[Pollinator] In the garden,pollinators rule

[Ladadams at aol.com]

Auburn Citizen, Auburn NY
In the garden, pollinators rule
By Terri Rafferty / Special to The Citizen 
Saturday, March 21, 2009 11:44 PM  EDT 
 
STERLING - Nature lovers and inspired gardeners learned  everything there is 
to know about pollination and how to start and maintain a  pollinated garden 
at the Sterling Nature Center Saturday. 
  


Native Pollinators, the first event of the spring and summer  season, was run 
by nature center director Jim D'Angelo.

Shirley Ryan, of  Auburn, and Bernie Aldrich, of Montezuma, came out to see 
what they might  learn.

“I love nature. I haven't been to the nature center before but it  
encompasses my interests,” Ryan said.

In his presentation, D'Angelo spoke  of ways to keep a more healthier natural 
garden by attracting native  pollinators. D'Angelo gave an overview of the 
native pollinators in the local  area and gave tips on how to attract these b
eneficial insects to your  yard.

The basic premise of pollination is the transfer of pollen from the  male to 
the female plant and is required for fruit and seeds to produce in  flowering 
plants.

“Eighty percent of all crops require an animal  pollinator,” D'Angelo said. “
Pollinators produce larger more favorable fruit and  higher crop yields.”

Without pollination tomatoes, squash, watermelon,  apples, blueberries, 
cucumbers and even chocolate wouldn't be accessible for  eating, D'Angelo said.

“People are disconnected from where there food  comes from. People are so 
used to going to a grocery store and picking up what  they need. They don't 
really know much about their food. They can buy  strawberries year round and around 
here they only grow naturally in the spring,”  D'Angelo said.

Bees are the most important pollinators. There are 4,000  different species 
of bees in North America and 47 different species of  bumblebees.

Bees use the pollen gained from plants and flowers for  nutrients and food. 
Usually they feed this to their brood which will eventually  hatch into an 
adult bee. Bees also use the nectar to keep up their  energy.

“If you want pollination in your yard use bees,” D'Angelo said.  “Native 
bees are the best to use because they fly only about 200 yards for food  so they 
will pollinate your garden more.”

Different animal pollinators  include bats, lemurs, slugs, flies, beetles, 
lizards, bush babies and  hummingbirds. Wind is a natural pollinator and helps 
specifically with the  production of corn.

“Cross-pollination occurs when pollen from one plant  lands on the silks of 
another plant. Gaps in corn occur when not every single  kernel of corn is 
pollinated,” D'Angelo said.

In this area, the  ruby-throated hummingbird is a significant pollinator 
attracted to red, orange  and yellow flowers as well as lilac bushes.

D'Angelo recommends using  plants and flowers that are native to New York 
state and naturally attract  pollinators such as the 12 varieties of milkweed, 26 
varieties of goldenrod and  212 varieties of aster are available locally.

The landscape of a garden  is another important factor because to get the 
most benefit of natural  pollinators the entire garden should be used for 
pollinating purposes.

A  technique called clumping is crucial. Plant same color flowers in a large  
cluster about 4 feet apart, which helps insects to better pollinate since 
they  naturally see colors in clumps.

D'Angelo also stressed the importance of  diversity in a garden. “You should 
have things in bloom throughout the season  since many bee and butterfly 
species fly at different times of the year,” he  said.

D'Angelo also recommended avoiding the use of pesticides but gave  tips on 
how to best use them.

Use pesticides when plants are not in  bloom, when pollinators are not active 
but when the pest you are targeting is  active and use a pesticide that is 
specific to that particular pest.

“All  of our actions big or small can be detrimental to nature,” D'Angelo 
said. 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





Laurie Davies Adams
Executive  Director
Pollinator Partnership 
423 Washington Street, 5th  floor
San Francisco, CA  94111
415-362-1137
LDA at pollinator.org

_www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 

_www.nappc.org_ (http://www.nappc.org/) 

National Pollinator Week is June 22-28, 2009. 
Beecome  involved at _www.pollinator.org_ (http://www.pollinator.org/) 
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