Power of Pollinators

LindsayRogers
NebraskaGame&ParksCommission NebraskaProjectWILD

Why is pollination important?

Do you Like
Chocolate? Coffee? Almonds? apples? Bananas? Tequila?

Pollination is one of the most Pollinationisoneofthemost importantmechanismsinthe maintenanceandpromotionof d f biodiversityand,ingeneral,life onEarth.Pollinationbenefits society byincreasingfood y y g securityandimproving livelihoods. livelihoods
ConventiononBiologicalDiversity, SustainingLifeonEarth

Q:Insectpollinatorshelp Q: Insect pollinators help produceproductsamounting to$_______annuallyinthe t $ ll i th U.S.

A. A B. C. D. $20thousand $20 thousand $20million $20billion $ $20trillion

Answer:$20BILLION A $20 BILLION

Foods Beverages Spices& Condiments Fibers Medicines

FoodProduction F d P d ti
70%oftheworldscropplantsdepend onpollination(apples,bananas, blueberries,chocolate,coffee,melons, potatoes,pumpkins,almonds,tequila) Wildlifedependsonproductionof berriesandfruitsforfood berries and fruits for food

So, So how does pollination work? Pollination 101

Pollenismovedfromthe stamentothepistilwherethe ovulesarefertilized Stamen:malepartofthe Stamen: male part of the flower Pistil:femalepartoftheflower

Sothenwhat?
Whenthe pollenreachestheovule, When the pollen reaches the ovule thisresultsintheproductionoffertile seeds. d Someplantswillselffertilize,others willcrosspollinate. Whatsthedifference?

Selfpollination p vs. Crosspollination

Withcrosspollination,yougetmore geneticdiversityintheplan...this genetic diversity in the plan this leadstoaplantthatisbetterableto survive. Cloningvs.Breeding Cloning vs Breeding

SoTHENwhat?
After fertilization,someplantsproduce fruitinordertoattractanimals... Animalseatthefruitanddispersethe Animals eat the fruit and disperse the seeds Otherplants,simplyproducetheseed andrelyonwindtodispersethe seeds... Oth d Otherswater,stillothers.... t till th Thisgetsintoseeddispersalmethods... g p another day!

Meet the Pollination super powers Pollinator Species

Q:Whichspeciesprovide Q: Which species provide pollinationservices________? A. B. C. C D. E. F. F Insects Birds Bats Wind Selfpollination Alloftheabove All of the above

A:Alloftheabove
(insects,birds,bats,wind,selfpollination)

80%offloweringplantsrely 80% of flowering plants rely onanimalsforpollination 99%ofanimalpollinatorsare p insects

Insect Pollinators

TypesofInsectPollinators Types of Insect Pollinators

B Bees Butterflies Wasps Moths Flies Beetles Ants

Syrphid Fly(honeybeemimic)

Q:Whichspeciesofbeesis NOTnativetoNorthAmerica? A. MasonBee

B. HoneyBee

C. BumbleBee

A:HoneyBee A: Honey Bee

So,whyisithere? Importedforagriculture.

Bees
Beesareoneofthemostcommon andefficientpollinators and efficient pollinators 20,000speciesofbeesworldwide 4 000 species of bees in North 4,000speciesofbeesinNorth America Typesofbees honey,bumble,carpenter, h b bl mason,leafcutter,sweat,and digger

Bees
Mostaresolitarynotsocial, thereforenotaggressive MostDONOTliveinahive...thisis onlyforsocialbees(i.e..honey l f i lb (i h bees) Branchedbodyhairshelpcollect pollen Usepollen&nectarasfood Use pollen & nectar as food

TrueorFalse? True or False? Butterflieshavetastebuds ontheirantennae?

FALSE!
Theirtastebudsareontheir feet....antennaareforsmelling! Femalestasteplantswiththeir l l h h feettofindtherightplanttolay theireggson. Butterflytastebudsare2,000 B fl b d 2 000 timesmoresensitivethan humans.

Butterflies
Longtonguecalledaproboscis....its usedlikeastrawtodrinknectar. Wingsarecoveredwithdelicatescales LifeCycle completemetamorphosis Egg Larva(caterpillar) Pupa(chrysalis) Adult

Q:Whichisnotapollinator speciesinNebraska? A. B. B C. D. E. E Wasps Beetles B tl Ants Bats Flies

A:Bats A: Bats
Nebraskasbatsare insectivores. insectivores Nebraskahas b k h thousandsofwasps, flies,beetles,and a ts t at e p antsthathelp pollinateourplants.

The Role of Flowers

Whatdothesetwopictures havetodowitheach other?

Theyreboth ADVERTISEMENTS Flowersattract pollinators justlike just like billboards attract people l

Flowersrelyonseveral strategiestoattractpollinators: ll
Nectar:nutritionalvalue Pollen: nutritional value Pollen:nutritionalvalue Fragrance
sweet: bees sweet:bees fruity:beetles rotten:flies&wasps p

Color Structure

Nectar

Pollen

Pollen

Color
Beesandbutterfliesseeincolor Differenteyestructurethanhumans UV i l t bl UV,violet,blue,yellow(NOTred)...Ifa ll (NOT d) If flowerisred,itisnotpollinatedbyabeeor butterfly. butterfly

Structure
Longandskinny butterflies,hummingbirds Fl Flowerlip h li heavyinsectslikebumble i t lik b bl bees shallowflowers insectswithashort tongueslikewasps g p wideopenflowers insectswithsponge likemouthpartsforsoakingupnectar. lk h f k small inconspicuous flowers small smallinconspicuousflowers small inconspicuousinsects(ants)

Declining pollinators... Why?

TheReasonfortheDecline
HabitatLoss(nesting sites,feedingsites) Wetlands Prairies W dl d Woodlands Loss of floral diversity Lossoffloraldiversity Developmentincreased urbanization Expansionofintensive agriculture(nonatural areasadjacenttocrops)

More reasonsfordecline
Pollution Pesticides(dustsand microencapsulated insecticidesarebad) H bi id (b d Herbicides(broadcast sprayingandpelletuse) Disease Competitionwith nonnative&invasive species Climatechange Disruptionin migrationroutes

Q:Whichofthefollowingis NOTnativetoNebraska?
A. A B. C. D. blue(pitcher)sage bl ( it h ) coneflower butterflymilkweed purpleloosestrife purple loosestrife

A:PurpleLoosestrife A: Purple Loosestrife

Nonnative and N ti d invasivespeciesare alsoaproblemfor l bl f pollinatorsdueto competition(from titi (f otherinsects)and lossofnativeplant l f ti l t species.

TheConsequences
Specializedpollinatorforsomeplant species...Losethepollinator,losetheplan (andviseversa). Lossofgeneticdiversity Affectcropandfruitproduction Driveupfoodprices

Helping Pollinators What Can should you do?

Whatneedstobedone:
Needbetterunderstandingofpopulations andeconomicimportanceofpollinators and economic importance of pollinators Understandtheirnaturalhistoryandbiology Worktoprovidenativehabitatdiversity includingasuccessionofdiverseflowers including a succession of diverse flowers Citizenscience(monitoring) Incentiveprogramstousepollinatorfriendly programs EDUCATION!!

InYOURbackyard...
Providelocalnativefoodsourcesforlarva andadults and adults Choseseveralcolorsandshapesofflowers, flowersinclumps,successional fl i l i l Providecleanwater Providenestingsites:softdirt,hollow branches,holesinwood Reduce(oreliminate)insecticideand herbicideuse(spottreat).Avoidspraying herbicide use (spot treat). Avoid spraying insecticidewhenflowersareinbloom.

Questions? Questions?