I will create pollinator habitats by adding native plants to the garden.
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Adding native plants to the garden creates a pollinator habitat where pollinators can live, eat, sleep and raise their young. Native plants and native pollinators have evolved together over millions of years and need one another. Pollinators look for pollen and nectar as food sources from early spring to late fall. (Please reference the Pollinator Plant List by season - see link above)
I will grow at least 2 plants which attract pollinators that bloom in each season.
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Growing pollinator plants with blooms throughout each growing season is important. Pollinators are looking for pollen and nectar as food sources from early spring through late fall. (Please reference the Pollinator Plant List by season - see link above)
* Providing a variety of flower colors and shapes attracts different pollinators.
* Plant in clumps rather than single plants to better attract pollinators.
* Double flowers have been bred for showier and longer lasting blooms. To achieve this often stamens were modified into petals and are not easily accessible.
Planting in groups, especially with smaller plants is shown to attract pollinators better than single plants that are separated from similar plants.
I will leave the leaves and previous year’s stems of perennials in my garden.
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Leaving seed heads, berries and leaves in the fall, protects habitats that pollinators need over winter. Leave the leaves in beds as added mulch in spring. Top dress lightly with wood chip mulch if desired. Plants can usually push through them and they decompose, providing added nutrients to the soil as Nature intended.
Typically, when we clean up our gardens in Spring, perennials are cut back to ground level. Instead, leave pithy or hollow plant stems 10 to 20 inches high so they can be used as cavity nests by solitary bees, like Mason Bees and Small Carpenter Bees. New growth will soon camouflage the old stems. Chop up the rest and leave to decompose over the summer.
I will garden in a pesticide-free way as much as possible.
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The widespread use of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, causes many pollinators to decline. Insecticides can cause direct deaths and herbicides kill the plants needed by pollinators. Plants or seeds that are treated with neonicotinoids are toxic to pollinators.
I will protect bee nests and plant caterpillar host plants.
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In addition to the honey bee (Apis mellifera), a livestock species brought to the United States from Europe, there are more than 20,000 described species of bees worldwide, approximately 3,600 bee species native to North America north of Mexico and at least 414 species native to Nebraska.
Solitary bees make up about 98% of the native bee species in the United States. Only Honey bees and bumblebees live a communal lifestyle, which can cause them to be protective of their homes. Solitary bees seldom sting unless trapped, and do not protect their nests. Male bees of any species cannot sting because the stinger is a modified egg-laying body part.
Between 60-70 percent of solitary bees dig burrows in the soil to lay their eggs. These bees are diverse and have diverse nesting preferences as follows:
* Provide both disturbed and undisturbed soil.
* Provide covered and bare soil.
* Most species are only active a few weeks each year.
The remaining 30 to 40 percent are cavity nesting:
* Use hollow plant stems or holes left by wood boring beetles to lay their eggs.
* Attract cavity nesting bees with manufactured bee nesting sites: (https://extensionpubs.unl.edu/publication/g2256/pdf/view/g2256-2021.pdf)
Butterfly and moth caterpillars have preferred plant species that they feed on. For instance, monarch caterpillars can only feed on milkweed. Black swallowtail caterpillars eat only plants in the umbellifer family such as golden Alexander, parsley and dill.
I will reduce my carbon output where possible
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Climate change is impacting pollinators by shifting the growing and blooming seasons of plants pollinators depend upon, resulting in mismatches between when pollinators are active and when food is available. Climate change is even shifting the geographical range of some pollinator species.
I will provide water in my garden
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Water is essential for a healthy ecosystem. Use a birdbath or shallow dish with rocks for insects to land on when they are collecting water or a butterfly puddling area where butterflies can sip water from the soil.
I will actively promote protection for pollinators and their habitats.
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Spread the word by talking with others, putting up a pollinator-friendly sign, and mentoring new gardeners. Volunteering to plant or help in pollinator gardens in schools, community gardens or senior residences, and supporting pollinator gardens at businesses are also impactful ways. Share your experiences on social media with #GreenBellevueBeeCity.
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