Pollination is a critical ecological function that has driven the diversification of plants for more than 100 million years.
While more than 20,000 species of birds, bats, and insects pollinate these crops, the thousands of bee species are the single most important group of pollinators for our food crops. Bees are also the predominant pollinators of most plants in natural ecosystems, and are often the most frequent visitors of flowers. Tropical ecosystems are home to perhaps 220,000 of the world’s flowering plant species - bees may pollinate or visit 50 percent of these flowers.
There are many resources and practices for supporting pollinators in your yard, at school, and in the community. Many plants cannot reproduce without pollen carried to them by foraging pollinators. The most common option is to support pollinator habitats. This can be done by:
Keeping patches of native plants on agricultural property.
Offering plants that flower at different times of the year.
Providing housing, such as butterfly boxes and carpenter bee houses.
Providing water sources, such as a bird bath.
Practicing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies to avoid spraying pollinators with pesticides.
Increase your knowledge about the issue.