Pollination and pollinators

Many types of pollinators

Pollinators Free ecosystem service Links wild ecosystems with farming Ag chemicals kill many pollinators Not all crops have honeybee pollinators

Basic Flower Structures

Pollination is not an accident Plants manipulate animal pollination at the cost of pollen, nectar, oils and waxes offered Adult bees drink nectar for sugar Pollen is high in protein which bees feed to larvae

Skunk cabbage is a native wetland plant with beetle pollinators

Weevils Pollinate Oil Palms red palm weevil larvae are eaten as a delicacy in New Guinea and Southeast Asia; Photo by Hegariz

Palm Weevil + Coconut Palm disease Its not a simple story though. Red ring fungus disease has already killed up to 80% of coconut palms in parts of the Colombia. The disease, on a nematode brought by the palm weevil causes the trees to wither and die.

Eggplants in Africa Eggplants in Kenya are bumblebee “buzz” pollinated (honeybees can’t do it!) Two species of solitary forest bees do pollinate the eggplants. As forests are cleared for farming, these pollinators are lost. Hand pollination in Africa

Watermelons in California Native bees on organic farms provide 100% pollination for organic watermelon crops. “Conventional” farms had greatly reduced native bee populations + needed additional pollination. Conservation and restoration of native bee habitats can be a successful strategy

Wild bees + Honeybees affect each other The wild bumble bee + a honey bee collecting pollen on a sunflower. Honey bees that interact with wild, native bees are up to five times more efficient in pollinating sunflowers. (Sarah Greenleaf photos)

Seeds grow next years crop! Amaranthus greens are a traditional food in Africa, and must be grown from seed (hence) must be pollinated !

Valuing Pollination in $ Foods high in vitamins and minerals like fruits and vegetables are mostly animal pollinated Estimates of the value of pollination range from $120 - $200 billion / year The wide range in estimated values results from the limited tools and focus appreciating the “free” service of pollination Many honeybee pollinated crops benefit greatly from the addition of native pollinators

Estimates of crop pollination Bees pollinated 71 – 103 of 107 crops worldwide (Prescott-Allan 1990) Bees pollinate 75% of 1330 cultivated crops (Roubik 1995) Bees, birds + bats pollinate 35% world crops + increase outputs of 87 foodcrops (Klein 2006)

Apple Pollination Apple varieties used as good cross - pollinators.

Hedgerows are barriers + boundaries made up of trees, shrubs and herbs Wind breaks, any small areas and idle fields on farms can be critical habitat for pollinators

Honeybee Monocultures Corporate agriculture depends on only a few species and varieties of pollinators – mostly european honeybees Trucking honeybees nationwide spreads pests + disease to native pollinators, and reduces genetic diversity Many crops are better pollinated by non- honeybees

Pyrethrum insecticide The Pyrethrum, an insecticide from Chrysanthemum flowers, is stronger if insect pollinate the flower

Research Studies are Needed on the Diversity of Native Pollinators To understand what is missing or declining, you need to know what species exist and what the interactions are! Most information on taxonomy is in museums … A single database to share information needed Native crops usually have local native pollinators – but little is know about them

The Pollinator Matrix Native flowers may have different pollinators over time (years) As each species flowering is limited to a specific part of a season, pollinators need many different species of flowers (and hence different species of plants) to survive over the year/season. Pollinator populations may vary due to many environmental variables – parasites, habitat changes, climate So, pollinator diversity depends on plant diversity

Human Ecosystem Disturbance So, a variety of flowers and pollinator types help to keep ecosystems functioning… until… Humans disturb habitats with large monocultures and chemicals impacting native pollinators… so pollination service is lost So….Humans turned to European + Asian honeybees to fill the loss