This past week we recognized National Pollinator Week, an event celebrated internationally in support of pollinator health and to raise awareness of declining pollinator populations. Did you know that a third of our nation’s food supply relies on pollination? Pollination is crucial to the nourishment of over 1,200 different food crops and 200,000 other species of plants overall that yield oils, cotton, clean air and more.
Pollinators are critical to biodiversity, a healthy ecosystem and ultimately, our survival. Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from one flower to another that enables plants to develop seeds and reproduce. Pollinators enjoy a mutualistic relationship with these plants, finding necessary pollen and nectar sources while helping plants fulfill their reproductive needs. While some plants may be pollinated by wind, water, or even by themselves, it is much more common for pollination to rely on the (often unintentional) labor of animals. When you think of pollination, you probably picture bees happily buzzing from flower to flower, but other species such as moths, butterflies, beetles, flies, bats, and birds also play a critical role. These animals perform a vital service that much of life on earth quite literally could not live without.
Without the work of these pollinators, our nation’s crops would yield fewer fruits, nuts, and vegetables, impacting our food supplies and pushing prices at the grocery store higher.
Each year, pollination by honey bees alone adds more than $18 billion in value to agricultural crops. The crops that rely on honey bee pollination for reproduction include peaches, strawberries, watermelon, and cauliflower. Agriculture is by far Virginia’s largest private industry, with an economic impact of $82.3 billion annually and supporting over 381,000 jobs.
However, in recent years, pollinator species, including honey bees, face increasing threats from habitat loss, rising temperatures, disease, and the excessive and inappropriate use of pesticides.
While honey bees were imported from Europe roughly 400 years ago, the nearly 4000 species of native bees also currently pollinate many crops and can be encouraged to do more to support agricultural endeavors if their needs for nesting habitat are met and if suitable sources of nectar, pollen, and water are provided.
In accordance with the mission of Pollinator Week, last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it is developing new strategies to protect pollinators from pesticides as outlined in the agency's first-ever Endangered Species Act workplan, continuing to review pesticides already on the market to reduce harm to pollinators, raising public awareness, and working with other federal agencies and state and local partners on the issue. The EPA is also working to identify potential geographically specific protections in the habitats of 27 endangered species especially vulnerable to pesticides, including three pollinators and other species that depend on pollinators, to reduce their exposure to outdoor uses of conventional pesticides. These species were selected due to their enhanced vulnerability caused by limited geographic range, small population sizes, and susceptibility to environmental stressors.
These mitigations aim to protect areas where the selected species are most likely to live and could be exposed to spray drift and runoff from pesticide-treated areas. The proposed mitigations are protective of the selected species but also simple enough that all pesticide users can easily understand and implement the mitigations.
On the state level, in 2021, I passed a study to enhance the communication between certified pesticide applicators and beekeepers in the Commonwealth. In 2020, Virginia began the Pollinator-Smart program to provide incentives and tools that encourage the solar industry to adopt strategies that promote pollinators such as planting native species under solar panels. Including native plants in solar fields provide a host of ecological benefits aside from pollinator habitat, including deeper root systems to help with stormwater management. But more needs to be done.
What can we all do to promote healthy pollinator populations? Pollinator species are attracted to areas that provide adequate food, shelter, and water sources. While pollinators can feed on a variety of nectar sources, their larvae (often caterpillars) are dependent on specific host plants, often with only one or very few such plants per species, so it's important to plant those native host plants too, like milkweed, violets, oak trees and more. If you have a yard or garden, plant a variety of native plants, including trees, shrubs, and wildflowers to provide nectar and pollen throughout the year. Build bee boxes and keep areas of bare soil for ground-nesting bees to burrow to encourage solitary, non-aggressive bees to nest on your property. If you choose to use a bee hotel, they will need to be disinfected after every season to prevent the spread of bee diseases. Learn and utilize Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to address pest concerns, and work to eliminate the use of pesticides, which are largely toxic to pollinators. You can learn to build a pollinator-friendly habitat suitable to our area by visiting here: https://www.pollinator.org/guides.
The continued protection of pollinators is essential to our global economy, human health, and food security.