Dream back to a hot summer day for a short while. On the way home from the beach, you have just settled on an outdoor terrace for coffee and blueberry pie. You’re just about to take a bite when a fly comes buzzing, and there’s a bee – “sigh.” You choose to calm down because you simultaneously realize that you have our wild pollinators to thank for the coffee break. Or?
Most of the time, we do not think that insects and other small animals make it possible to enjoy good food, drink, and much else surrounding us! Did you know that the coffee harvest is up to 50% higher with the help of pollinators [1], and insects must visit blueberry flowers to produce many large berries [2]? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has estimated the value of insect pollination for global food production at between $ 235 billion and $ 577 billion per year! [3]. And then we’re just talking about food for us humans. Well-pollinated wild plants provide birds, mammals, and insects with seeds, fruit, and berries.
RIGHT, POLLINATORS ARE VITAL, BUT HOW DOES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FLOWERS AND BEES WORK AGAIN?
Pollinators play a crucial role in the reproductive process of flowering plants by aiding in the transfer of pollen from stamens to pistils. During a visit to a flower, the animal’s body inadvertently gathers pollen from the pistil. As pollinators continue their quest for additional pollen and nectar, they traverse between various flowers, facilitating the distribution of pollen grains onto the pistils of other flowers. When pollen grains adhere to a flower’s pistil, the seeds within the pistil can undergo fertilization, forming new sources that can germinate into new plants.
In Sweden, there are about 300 species of wild bees, of which about 40 species are bumblebees. Bees and bumblebees (which also belong to the bee family) are the most effective pollinators. Because bee larvae feed exclusively on pollen, they transport larger amounts than other insects whose larvae have different food. The bees’ dense fur also causes large amounts of pollen to get stuck on the coat. Day butterflies, flower flies, beetles, wasps, and ants are essential pollinators. In addition, birds, bats, and lizards can pollinate plants!
A SHORT TIME OF ABUNDANCE
An undulating yellow rapeseed field lights up the landscape on an early May spring day. Bees and bumblebees buzz around in an abundance of food. But what happens to the pollinators when the rapeseed blooming is over? Intensive cultivation has displaced the space for other flowering species along the field edges, and it becomes pretty empty of food when the rapeseed flowers disappear. We may not think about it, but pollinators need food throughout the season.
Consider the case of the overwintering queen bumblebee. When early spring arrives, she awakens with a pressing requirement for early flowering plants, essential for nurturing the initial generation of workers [4]. She cannot afford to wait until May when rapeseed starts to blossom.
So, bees, bumblebees, butterflies, and flies need access to various trees and plants that bloom at different times of the year. Unfortunately, species-rich environments such as flower meadows and pastures are becoming increasingly rare. Instead, we have given way to large-scale, species-poor industrial agriculture, leading to a significant loss of habitats for insects and other animals [5].
An example of such a species-poor landscape is the large cotton fields we find in, for example, the USA, Brazil, and Australia. Another major problem for pollinators is that the cotton industry uses large amounts of fertilizer, which threatens bees and butterflies that cannot build their nests in the fertilized soil [5]. If you want to know more about the environmental impact of cotton cultivations and insecticides, you can read more from previous blog post!
WILD BEES VS. HONEY BEES
The intensification of agriculture in recent decades and increased chemical pesticide use have contributed to the prolonged decline of many pollinating insects. Globally, including in Sweden, farmers now rent honey bee colonies, transporting them long distances for crop pollination—a role once fulfilled by nature [1].
IIn Sweden, one-third of all wild bee and hop species are endangered, and one-fifth of all butterflies [5]. After several alarming reports about “bee deaths,” interest has increased to save the bees. One consequence is that interest in beekeeping has soared [6]. However, honeybees are not at all endangered. On the contrary, honeybees carry out about 85% of food pollination globally [7]. Increasing the presence of honeybees in the agricultural landscape may threaten wild pollinators, as honeybees and wild pollinators compete for the same food [6].
WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP POLLINATORS?
- Support small-scale eco-farmers who benefit from diverse plants and create more habitats for pollinators.
- If you have a garden, you can avoid mowing the lawn. Be sure to grow plants and trees that bloom at different times of the year so pollinators can find food throughout the season. Avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
- If you live in an apartment, you can engage in urban gardening or let your balcony bloom.
- Ask for organically produced plants.
- Build an insect hotel.
And remember to thank our pollinators the next time you enjoy a coffee and a blueberry pie!
Sources
- Nature.com – The value of bees to the coffee harvest
- Plant Heath Australia – Maximise your Blueberry Crop with better pollination
- FAO – Pollinators vital to our food supply under threat
- Corner Pollinator Garden – Bumblebee workers and a special queen
- United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – UN Report: Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating
- Dagens Nyheter Debate – Help the bees the right way – invest in flowers instead of beehives
- The Royal Society Publishing – The worldwide importance of honey bees as pollinators in natural habitats
