[Pollinator] Delaware Online: Do the world a favor: Please the pollinators

[Jennifer Tsang]

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070805/LIFE/70805
0322/1005/LIFE

 



 


Do the world a favor: Please the pollinators


By MARGO McDONOUGH, Special to The News Journal


Posted Sunday, August 5, 2007


Area gardeners are putting out the welcome mat, and the invited guests
include flies, beetles, wasps and moths. The enlightened individuals who are
drawing up such guest lists know these creatures do good things for the yard
and garden.

We may not ooh and aah over them -- the way we do with hummingbirds and
butterflies -- but flies, beetles, wasps and moths are pollinators all the
same and an integral part of the ecosystem.

"Pollinator-friendly gardening" is the newest thing in horticulture, spurred
by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, which held a series of
public events nationwide earlier this summer.

But "the newest thing" is not yet a widespread thing. "It's definitely a
hard sell, telling people they need to plant shrubs and flowers that will
draw flies and wasps to their yard," acknowledges Dr. Sue Barton, University
of Delaware Cooperative Extension specialist for ornamental horticulture.

"In the case of flies, one of the trees they like is the hawthorn. Its scent
contains trimethylene, which also is what corpses give off as they decay. I
can't imagine anyone wanting this odor right next to a deck or patio," says
Barton.

"However, with its white flowers in spring and red fruit in the fall,
hawthorn makes an attractive specimen tree and also works nicely as a hedge.
So, I'd suggest planting them on the perimeter of a yard," she says.

And if you do, you'll be helping some 140-plus insect species (not to
mention 23 species of birds that eat the hawthorn's berries). In addition to
flies, pollinating insects that feed on the hawthorn include the
caterpillars of dozens of moths, such as the March, November and peppered
moth, as well as the Duke of Burgundy butterfly.

But if you don't have apple trees in your yard or cucumbers in your garden,
you may be wondering why you should care about pollinators. After all,
Delaware farmers hire beekeepers from as far away as California, and their
itinerant bees get the job done, right?

Well, up to now they have, but that's changing, according to Dr. Dewey
Caron, an entomologist with UD Cooperative Extension. "Declines in certain
pollinator populations, including the honeybee, have been reported here in
Delaware and worldwide." says Caron. "The causes of the decline include loss
of habitat, misuse of pesticides, invasive plants and animals, diseases and
parasites."

"This is a problem we can't ignore because most flowering plants rely on
pollinators to reproduce," adds Caron. In fact, one third of all human food
crops need pollination. A world without pollinators would be a world without
apples, blueberries, strawberries, chocolate, almonds and many other food,
fiber and medicinal plants.

To create a pollinator-friendly garden, plant a variety of flowers, trees
and shrubs for continuous bloom from early spring through fall. "Early
bloomers that are pollinator-friendly include native cherries and dogwoods,"
says Barton. "Heading into summer, viburnums, which are members of the
honeysuckle family, are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators.

"A good planting for mid-summer is the bottlebrush shrub," says Barton.
"Every July, the cluster of bottlebrush shrubs in my yard is covered with
swallowtail butterflies."

Barton likes black-eyed Susan and the sourwood, or sorrel, tree to keep
pollinators happy in mid-summer. Late-summer choices include Joe Pye weed,
butterfly weed and purple coneflower. And for autumn, Barton says to
consider asters, which are a late source of pollen for bees and wasps.

Other elements in a pollinator-friendly garden are rocks (which provide warm
places for insects to perch) and water. To avoid the water source becoming a
breeding ground for mosquitoes, refill daily. Caron also stresses the
importance of reducing or eliminating pesticide use.

To learn more about pollinator-friendly gardening, check out
www.pollinator.org.

Copyright C2007, The News Journal. Users of this site agree to the Terms
<http://www.delawareonline.com/terms>  of Service and Privacy
<http://www.delawareonline.com/privacy>  Policy/Your California Privacy
Rights (Terms updated March 2007). 

 

Jennifer Tsang
Coevolution Institute <http://coevolution.org> 
423 Washington St. 5th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94111-2339
T: 415.362.1137

F: 415.362.3070

www.nappc.org

www.pollinator.org

 

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