A summary of, Attracting Native Pollinators, a guide published by the Xerces Society.
Part 1 of 4
Our native bees and other pollinators are declining mostly because of human created environmental factors including the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of habitat, poisoning from pesticides, and the introduction and spread of diseases. Other problems are light pollution and climate change.
Bees can be poisoned by pesticides if they are out foraging when plants are sprayed. If the mosquito spray truck drives by in the evening and sprays the front garden the bees can be killed from absorbing the chemicals. Bees can also pick up insecticide later while they are foraging on flowers that have chemical residue on them. Even soil can be contaminated with insecticides and kill bees in their nests. Plants can be engineered with systemic pesticides inside the plant call neonicotinoids. Even a small non lethal dose of pesticide can cause a bee to become disoriented and not be able to fly back to it's nest.
Don't use pesticides. Home gardeners are often guilty of applying pesticide much more heavily then recommended which can damage the pollinator haven they are trying to create. A healthy and diverse landscape will encourage pest predators and parasites. Pesticides may harm beneficial insects that keep a pest in check.
To protect bee habitat first recognize what existing pollinator habitat there is and protect it. Expand the existing habitat and add new type of habitat that are missing from the landscape. Minimize disturbance of pollinators using their habitat by leaving it alone. Leave leaves on the ground until pollinators emerge from their winter dens. Don't disturb bare patches of soil where queen bees might be nesting. Let rotting logs and plant stems stay to provide habitat. Brush piles and rock piles can shelter insects. Practice benign neglect in the garden.
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