CHAPTER 9
ADVOCATING FOR POLLINATORS
Be an advocate for bees and other pollinators. There are lots of ways to help.
EDUCATE AND ADVOCATE
Bee watching is the new bird watching.
By the time you reach this chapter, you’ve already learned a lot about encouraging and supporting pollinators in your garden. But don’t stop in the yard. Keep on learning! Continue to observe and enjoy pollinators everywhere you go! Visit botanical gardens and arboretums. Pay attention to nature’s own design tips when you explore wild areas. Join a conservation group.
Then think seriously about sharing all this powerful knowledge with your friends, neighbors, and others. That’s the premise and hope of this book. One pollinator-friendly garden begets another one until there are hundreds and then conceivably thousands of them forming valuable wildlife corridors that link habitats together, making food, shelter, and nesting sites available for countless species of pollinators.
There’s no better way to dispense this information than one-to-one while you’re out there tending your garden. Once you have a pollinator-friendly garden, people will take notice. They’ll see that your garden has more flowers, more birdsong, more life. At first they may not ask questions, but you’ll see them slowing down as they drive by, pausing as they walk by. They’ll smile. You’ll smile back. After all, it should be just as welcoming to people as it is to pollinators.
Here’s the chance to play the role of sidewalk evangelist for pollinators. But rather than pontificate about your gardening principles, point out a bumblebee; take them closer to watch it for a minute. Identify a bloom or two. Ease them into it. Mention how the garden not only attracts these fascinating creatures but also sustains them through their entire life cycle, providing your garden with beauty as well as their valuable pollinator services.
FUN FACT
Honeybees living in the White House kitchen garden produce honey for state dinners and diplomatic gifts as well for use in crafting specially made beer.
Of course, you can’t be out there all the time, although you may want to be. So consider certifying your yard as an official habitat. Depending upon your garden’s focus, you could certify it as a Backyard Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation, as a Monarch Waystation with Monarch Watch, or another of many such programs. Pollinator habitat and bee-safe certification programs are popping up all over the country. These programs often provide plant lists and other tips to help you fulfill their requirements. Once you’re certified, you can donate a small amount to obtain a small yard sign that explains the criteria for establishing your habitat.
The sign is great for those passersby who are too shy to ask questions. It will pique the curiosity of those driving by. It’s fun to watch them stop, look around, and then read the sign and then look up and around again at your yard. You can actually see the wheels turning as they regard it.
Welcome potential pollinator-friendly gardeners with gentle persuasion.
Social media is another great way to share information about pollinator conservation. You can inspire and inform others with pictures of your pollinator-friendly garden, news about pollinator-focused events, and more. Be careful, though, not to post too much, too often, since you don’t want people to mistake your enthusiasm for spam! Social media is also a place where misinformation on pollinator issues can spread fast without the benefit of editorial oversight or basic fact checking. Before you hit the “share” button or even the “like” button, consider the source. Does the story come from a reputable organization or individual? Is it a website seeking to sell something? Beware of the numerous online petitions that proliferate on Facebook but sometimes only seek your personal information for marketing rather than true environmental change.
Your garden will inspire others to create their own wildlife habitat.
Pollinators are in the news as well. It seems not a week goes by that you don’t see something about bees or butterflies anymore. As this book was being written, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will spend $2 million to grow milkweed and other butterfly-friendly plants along the monarchs’ main migration route from Minnesota to Mexico. Partnering with the National Wildlife Federation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, their aim is to restore 200,000 acres of habitat in the spring breeding grounds of Texas and Oklahoma to the summer breeding grounds in the Corn Belt. The lofty goal is to eventually bring back the monarch population to one billion after fewer than 50 million made it to Mexico in 2013. Finally, pollinator summits of all kinds and sizes are being called around the nation as more people become more aware of the issue.
Whether you get involved on a local, regional, or national level, you can make your voice heard in support of pollinators. Whether writing a letter to the editor, speaking out at your local park board, or addressing your legislators, be clear and concise about your concerns. Well-intentioned but rambling odes and speeches test peoples’ attention span and turn off potential supporters to your cause. Limit your concerns to a few key points and state them with confidence. Show your passion but maintain your credibility by using research-based information and a sense of optimism.
A pollinator-friendly garden will pique the curiosity of passersby.
JOIN UP
Creating awareness of the critical role that pollinators play in the health of people and our planet is the first step toward real action to conserve them. Among the many worthy organizations that seek to promote the cause, consider joining:
• Xerces Society www.xerces.org
• Monarch Watch www.monarchwatch.org
• Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center www.wildflower.org
• Pollinator Partnership www.pollinator.org
CITIZEN SCIENCE PROJECTS
These valuable projects are only possible through the efforts of concerned and curious “citizen scientists” who make observations and gather data in the field for the purpose of broadening studies of pollinators and the plants they rely upon. You can volunteer for citizen science projects that ask for only 15 minutes of your time—or much more, if you want, depending upon your schedule and level of interest.
They may involve simply counting species in your backyard for a particular time period, or there may be more involved activities such as tagging species or observing and recording animal behavior, plants, or weather. Find out about projects in your area through universities, conservation societies, extension agencies, local nature clubs, and continuing education programs.
RAISING MONARCHS
Along with the fresh food-growing revolution, gardeners have been on the leading edge of a new livestock movement with chickens, ducks, bees, goats, and other four-legged critters appearing in the garden plot. There’s another type of farming that you might say is “creeping” up in popularity, rearing monarch butterflies from egg to wing. Whether armed with pickle jars or professional kits, there are a surprising number of conservation-minded folks raising monarchs at home, helping the cause one butterfly at a time.
The monarch chrysalis looks like a delicate piece of jewelry.
It’s a simple and rewarding activity, whether you join the ranks as a curious conservationist, citizen scientist, or classroom educator. It’s a chance to observe firsthand the entire circle of life within the metamorphic process. With a minor investment of spare change and time, you can witness one of the most incredible natural phenomena up close and personal while helping out a species that’s not yet on the endangered list, but whose migratory lifestyle is definitely threatened.
The number one “pro-tip” for the project is to avoid disease by starting with sterilized containers and maintaining cleanliness throughout the process. Use a 10-percent bleach solution for any container you plan to use, no matter if it’s the plastic clamshell from yesterday’s lunch or a store-bought setup.
But first go out and see if you can find some eggs. It’s not as easy as it seems. Look for adult monarchs visiting milkweed plants, watching in particular for females pausing to lay eggs on or underneath leaves. This can be a challenging quest since they usually only lay one little pearl-like egg per plant to make sure the larva has enough to eat. Don’t give up too soon. Some “monarch ranchers” say the top third of the plant is more likely to yield an egg. At this point, however, you might want to know there are sources for mail-order monarch supplies with eggs, caterpillars, and even chrysalises available for purchase. (See Resources on page 170.)
When you find an egg, collect that leaf or entire stem and place it in water back home. You’ll want to keep this milkweed and subsequent supplies of milkweed fresh. Some people simply put the milkweed stem in a vase of water and allow the larva to hatch and crawl on the plant out in the open during the first and second instar stages when it’s rare for the caterpillar to stray from its food source.
The size of the container is dependent upon how many caterpillars you intend to rear. A deli or sandwich container is fine for one as long as it is large enough for the emerging adult butterfly to stretch its wings and move about before it’s released. If you need to transfer a tiny caterpillar use a soft paintbrush to move it to the larger container. In their later stages, you can handle them gently if needed.
You’ll want to go bigger if you have aspirations of raising multiples. Many people use plastic buckets of various sizes with mesh netting as a “roof” secured with rubber bands or ties. Ice cream buckets and wedding tulle fabric are a favorite combination. Seasoned experts advise against metal lids with holes that can encourage condensation and mold and don’t provide enough air. It’s important to be able to easily reach into the container regularly while refreshing the food supply or cleaning out the frass, which is a fancy name for caterpillar poop. You may have an old aquarium around; it’s a perfect habitat that allows you to observe the metamorphosis from all angles. A screen over the top provides a place for the caterpillar to pupate and hang in chrysalis form.
The monarch emerges from its chrysalis.
The market has responded to the growing popularity of this monarch-rearing activity with purpose-made mesh containers ranging from around a foot-square cube to taller setups going from 2 to 3 feet tall up to 6 feet tall. These larger types are designed so you can place a potted plant—milkweed, in the case of monarchs—in the protected container as a fresh food source. The fine gauge mesh allows for adequate air circulation while it prevents ants and wasps from entering and tiny larva from escaping. They feature a zippered entry on one side and a vinyl observation window on the other, and they collapse flat for easy storage when not in use. There are also mesh socks or sleeves for sale that can be used to protect caterpillars found in place outside. (See Resources on page 170 for more information.)
After your egg hatches and the miniscule instar starts munching on the milkweed, it’s imperative to keep more milkweed on hand, either storing it in the fridge or picking fresh every few days. Wrap the stems in moistened paper towels to help this along. If you’re raising multiples, you’ll be surprised at how much they go through. And what goes in comes out: clear frass regularly. Paper towels or newspaper on the bottom of the container makes this job easier. In spite of your best intentions, some caterpillars may become diseased. If you notice them turn black and elongate, remove them promptly from the container. If possible you may want to temporarily relocate your remaining livestock and disinfect the container with a 10-percent bleach solution for five minutes. Rinse well and dry before moving remaining healthy caterpillars back in.
Once the caterpillars molt through to the final instar, they will be ready to pupate. They’ll crawl to the top of the container, attach themselves with a silken thread, assume a J-shaped pose, and shed their skin for the last time. The resulting chrysalis is nothing short of amazing: a beautiful, jade-colored case with shiny gold edging and dots that resembles an elegant earring. After 10 to 14 days, the chrysalis will turn transparent and the orange and black wings will appear to darken the vessel. The whole event happens fast, usually around mid-morning. The emerging butterfly will need to inflate its wings, pumping blood into the veins. If the weather is warm enough, the butterfly can be released at the end of the day. If you need to keep the butterfly inside longer for bad weather or observation, feed with watermelon or honeydew. You can provide a 20-percent honey-water solution or Juicy Juice-brand fruit juice. Fresh-cut flowers can supplement as well.
When it comes time to release the butterfly, you’ll probably feel a range of emotions from pride to awe knowing you’ve assisted such a miracle of nature.
PROJECTS FOR BEES
• The Great Sunflower Project (www.greatsunflower.org) asks citizens to record pollinator data from their gardens, schools, and parks. They are especially interested in pollinator visits to sunflowers. They have the largest single body of information on bee pollinator service in the US.
• Bumble Bee Watch (www.xerces.org/bumble-bee-watch/) seeks volunteers to track the species of North American bumblebees they encounter to better follow their status and inform more effective conservation efforts.
• Vermont Bumblebee Survey (m.vtecostudies.org/vtbees/index.html) aims to document abundance and distribution of bumblebees and eastern carpenter bees across Vermont. The data will be given to the public and policymakers for the purpose of making conservation and management decisions.
• Bumblebee Brigade (www.wyomingbiodiversity.org/public-programs/summer-pollinators/bumble-bee/) is a group of people who record bee sightings to better learn about the different species living in the state of Wyoming.
• Bumble Boosters at University of Nebraska-Lincoln (bumbleboosters.unl.edu) uses innovative, research-based teaching methods and cutting edge technologies to promote pollinator conservation.
• Bee Spotters (beespotter.mste.illinois.edu) collect data on bee sightings in Illinois and Missouri to help contribute findings for a nationwide effort of baseline information about bee populations.
Become a bee spotter for citizen science projects.
PROJECTS FOR BUTTERFLIES
• Monarch Watch (www.monarchwatch.org) has many ways to get involved through tagging and migration monitoring, monarch rearing, monarch waystations, and milkweed conservation efforts among others.
• Butterfly Census (www.naba.org) is sponsored by the North American Butterfly Association and asks volunteers for one-day butterfly counts in spring, summer and fall.
• Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (www.mlmp.org) is connected with the University of Minnesota. Its volunteers collect data to advance better understanding of how and why monarch populations vary in time and space. It seeks to aid in conserving monarchs and their threatened migratory phenomenon.
• Monarch tagging goes on in late summer at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont in Tennessee. The group tags monarchs to learn more about their migration and population status. Find more information at www.gsmit.org/CSMonarchTagging.html
• The Vanessa Migration Project (www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects/vanessa/) is a Cornell University program that has citizen observers report their sightings of four butterflies of the genus Vanessa in order to monitor their seasonal distribution, track migrations and outbreaks, as well as study effects of weather and climactic patterns on butterfly activity.
• “Monarchs in the Classroom” (monarchlab.org) provides a wide variety of materials and professional development opportunities for teachers, naturalists, and citizens throughout the US. The program seeks to help students learn more about the natural world through the life cycle and migration of the monarch butterfly.
PROJECTS FOR HUMMINGBIRDS
• Hummingbirds at Home (www.hummingbirdsathome.org), sponsored by the Audubon Society, asks you to join and learn more about hummingbirds and how to protect them.
PROJECTS FOR BATS
• Bat Detective (www.batdetective.org) asks citizens to help record bat calls in order to learn more about the status of their populations. Traditional visual surveys are hard to do because bats are small, nocturnal, and hard to catch, but much can be learned through these acoustical methods.
RELATED TO PLANTS AND POLLINATORS
• Project Budburst (budburst.org) gathers data on the timing of leafing, flowering, and fruiting of plants in order to learn more about the responsiveness of individual plant species to a changing climate.
• National Phenology Network (www.usanpn.org) collects standardized ground observations of teachers, students, and volunteers to promote a broader understanding of plant and animal phenology and its relationship with environmental change.
• Tracking the Wild Invasives (www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects/trackinginvasives/) is a USDA-supported project that aims to better understand the spread of invasive plants in forested parklands of southern New York and northern New Jersey that have high conservation value and high levels of public use.