Did you know that 70 percent of the food that we eat benefits from pollination? Plants cannot produce a fruit or a seed without fertilization – pollinators are a vital part of this process. Pollination helps the plant to produce viable seeds, increases production and promotes more variety within our food supply, with better nutritional qualities. Plants like fruit trees, berries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons and flowers depend on pollinators.
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Ask Flora – May 2023
From the Sage and Snow Garden Club
Dear Flora,
I recently attended a class at the library about “Planting for Pollinators.” It has sparked my interest in the topic – can you tell me more about why planting for pollinators is important?
Sincerely, Polly Nate
Dear Polly,
Thanks for asking! Pollinators are a very important part of the process for food production and creating a more diverse plant world. Small changes made to your yard can help build resilience within our larger ecosystem.
Did you know that 70 percent of the food that we eat benefits from pollination? Plants cannot produce a fruit or a seed without fertilization – pollinators are a vital part of this process. Pollination helps the plant to produce viable seeds, increases production and promotes more variety within our food supply, with better nutritional qualities. Plants like fruit trees, berries, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, melons and flowers depend on pollinators.
Over the past few decades, there has been a significant loss of pollinators – including honey bees, native bees, birds, bats and butterflies. The problem is serious and creates significant challenges for the sustainability of our food production systems and the ability to protect the health of our environment.
Dear Flora,
Can you tell me what kind of pollinators we have in Wyoming? How does the pollination process work?
Wondering, Bea Friend
Dear Bea,
We have a wide variety of pollinators in Wyoming – there are over 800 species of native bees alone! Bees, flies, beetles, butterflies, moths and wasps are frequent insect pollinators. Hummingbirds, bats and small mammals help in the pollination process, too. Wind and even water can assist with the pollination process.
Plants need pollinators to transfer pollen from the anther (male part) to the stigma (female part) of the flower. When a bee sips nectar buried deep within a flower, powdery yellow pollen sticks to its fuzzy body. The bee carries this fertilizing pollen from flower to flower as it gathers food, brushing against the stigma of another flower. The stigma needs pollen to produce fruit and seeds. Other methods of pollination can include the wind or water moving pollen to other plants, mammals and birds transfer pollen as they move from plant to plant and even humans can manually complete this process.
Dear Flora,
Are there ways that I can promote pollinators in my own yard?
Sincerely, Rufous H. Byrd
Dear Rufous,
That is a great question! There are many ways to help promote pollinators in our own backyards and our larger community. Here are a few ideas:
Dear Flora,
I am wondering where I could go to learn more about pollinators?
Cordially, Sage Mason
Dear Sage,
There are many great resources to learn more about pollinators. Here are a few good ones: