National Pollinator Week is June 20 to 26, 2011, and there is no easier way to convince people that we need insects than with pollinators. Everyone knows pollinators are important, but it is hard to conceive of how heavily we rely upon them for our survival. Pollinators—the various bees, flies, butterflies, beetles, and other animals that spread pollen around from flower to flower—are responsible for creating one out of every three bites of food that we eat. So many fruits, vegetables, and nuts are pollinated by insects that I won’t even attempt to list them all. Don’t like fruits and vegetables, you macho types? Insects also pollinate alfalfa and clover, which are used to raise cows and other animals. No pollinators, no meat (or at least affordable meat).
Unfortunately, pollinators are in trouble. We’re changing the world in various ways so devastating to insects that though they can be highly adaptable, hearty creatures, they’re having a hard time keeping up. Honey bees, native bees, butterflies, flies, beetles—we need them all, the more variety the better, since if one species struggles, there will be others to pick up the slack.
So what can you do to help? First and foremost, take that itchy trigger finger off that bottle of insecticide. Even if you’re not willing to live with insects, there may be other, more sustainable ways to address your problem. Investigate green options to eliminate pests.
Second, plant nectar and pollen-producing plants, preferably native ones, whenever possible. The pollinators will love it, and your garden will be full of flowers. It’s a win-win.
Third, allow a little clutter in your yard. Pollinators are attracted to nectar and pollen, but they also need places to live and overwinter. Leaving a few bundles of twigs, a pile of leaves, or some patches of bare dirt behind can make a lot of difference. A perfectly manicured garden can be a barren wasteland to a pollinator. Cultivate a little wildness in your yard. You can even buy or construct insect houses to attract all different kinds of pollinators.
And fourth: come see us at the Zoo! We’ll be doing daily presentations about pollinators in the Insect House in Discovery Outpost at 11:30 each day. While you’re at the Zoo, check in on foursquare to receive a beautiful poster created to commemorate Pollinator Week. And stop in at the Mercado to pick up your poster and check out mason bee houses, native plants, and books about pollinators.
I hope I have convinced you to accept insects into your life. Whether you like it or not, they’re here to stay. And no matter how you feel about them, they are essential to our very survival—so let’s give them a hand!
Ester Chang is a keeper at the San Diego Zoo.
I was wondering,do butterflies have the eyes like flies? Like the ones that could see behind, side and frount
What a great question, Cassie! Butterflies and flies both have what are called compound eyes. When you look at a fly’s or butterfly’s head, the large things that look like eyes are actually thousands of tiny, very simple eyes grouped together. They are much less complicated than our own eyes. But, like you mentioned, they allow the insect to see in a greater range than our eyes do. The compound eyes of most insects see shapes and colors, and if you can imagine looking through a kaleidoscope, that’ll give you a good idea of what the insect’s brain see.. Most insects also have what are called simple eyes in between their compound eyes on top of their heads. These simple eyes usually see movement or light intensity. Stop by pollinators (dot) info to learn more about pollinators!
Don’t know if anyone will read this as I came across this a year later, but…for many years I used to prespray for ants in front of my front door every spring to prevent ants from entering altho some got in anyway. One year I stopped spraying because I was afraid the spray would be bad for my very elderly cat. I also was too busy to remove any ants until they were a major problem. I didn’t want to kill them so I relocated them to the outside, it took me over 2 weeks to do this but guess what…I’ve never seen another ant in my home since and I’ve never sprayed since and it’s been 3 years!
Moderator’s note: Thank you for sharing another form of pest control, Sheryl!