1. The Birds and the Bees and… The Beetles
The Birds and the Bees and… The Beetles! Why We Should Care About Pollinators?
John Sarvis, USFWS
Christopher Gezon, NPS
Joanna Gilkeson, USFWS
This presentation adapted from slides prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

2. What is Pollination?
Pollination is simply the movement of pollen, containing the male genetic material, from one flower to another of the same species. This transfer is necessary for the production of seeds and fruits, and helps to ensure the genetic variability that is vital to healthy plant populations.
Plants are either pollinated by wind, water or through the actions of animals. Plants that are pollinated primarily by wind produce small grains of pollen that can be easily carried some distance through the air. Because movement of pollen from one flower to another by wind is somewhat haphazard, wind-pollinated plants usually produce a lot of small pollen grains that can be easily carried in the wind (think of that yellowish dust all over your car in the spring—the pollen from trees). Also, since they are not trying to attract animals to move the pollen, wind-pollinated flowers tend to be small and drab. Even if it didn’t make you sneeze, no one would intentionally plant ragweed for the beauty of the flower!
In contrast, animal-pollinated plants have a mutually beneficial relationship with their animal pollinators. Plants provide some necessary resource—usually food in the form of nectar or the pollen itself—and in the process of collecting that resource, the animal moves pollen from flower to flower. Both sides benefit. Animal-pollinated flowers also advertise themselves through color, shape, and scent. Some insect-pollinated flowers also have ultraviolet guides that are unseen by the human eye, but readily discernable, and attractive, to insects.

3. Animal Pollinators Birds Bats Insects Bees Butterflies & Moths Flies
USFWS
Birds
Bats
Insects
Bees
Butterflies & Moths
Flies
Beetles
Wasps
USFWS
Dean E. Biggins, USFWS
Although we usually think of insects as pollinators, other groups of animals can be very important pollinators of certain plants.
Rick Hansen, USFWS
USDA-ARS

4. Importance of Pollinators
More than 75% of flowering plants depend on animal pollinators
In U.S., over 100 crop plants depend on animal pollinators (value >$15 Billion)
Most natural ecosystems would collapse without animal pollinators
Some plants are endangered because of diminished pollination
Chocolate depends on pollinators!!
While many of the grains we humans depend on for food are wind pollinated, a majority of the foods we eat depend on animal pollinators. Most of these are foods that give our diet variety and flavor: tree fruits like apples, peaches, and oranges; tomatoes, berries, and spicy foods like chili peppers (thank pollinators the next time you enjoy salsa).
In the natural world, many trees and most grasses are wind pollinated. However, 75% of all flowering plants need animal pollinators, from small plants to shrubs and vines, to wild fruit trees. Without pollinators, these plants could not produce seeds and fruit, and would eventually disappear because they could no longer reproduce. Then consider all the other organisms that depend on these plants for food and shelter. They too, would eventually disappear.
Some plants today are in danger of becoming extinct because they lack sufficient pollinators. Some plants and their animal pollinators develop such close evolutionary relationships that one cannot survive without the other. Some pollinators, for example, have very specialized mouthparts for feeding on a particular plant. If that plant disappears, the pollinator cannot shift to another plant. And if the pollinator disappears, no other pollinator has those unique structures to feed on, and subsequently pollinate, that plant.
And if all this doesn’t impress you, remember that chocolate depends on pollinators (a small midge fly).

5. What Makes a Good Pollinator?
Highly mobile
Pollen can attach to it (hairs, scales, feathers)
Adapted to feeding on flowers/nectar/pollen
May have specialized feeding structures
Visits a limited number of plant species
Some important characteristics of pollinators. They should be highly mobile to be able to move rapidly among flowers and clusters of flowers. Most important pollinators can fly (birds, bats, insects). They need to have structures on which pollen can attach (they need to be “sticky”), so we see pollinators with hairs (bats, insects such as bees), scales (butterflies and moths), and feathers (birds). Most pollinators are adapted to feeding on the flowers, nectar, or pollen, and they often have specialized structures adapted to gather this food (the long, skinny bill and tongue of a hummingbird, the long proboscis of a butterfly, the “pollen baskets” of a bee). And finally, from a plant’s perspective, it’s desirable to have a pollinator that visits only that species or only a limited number of species. It doesn’t do the plant any good if the animal collects pollen from its flower and then moves to flowers of a different species.
Mark Vandever, USGS

6. Meet the Pollinators

7. While most bats feed exclusively on flying insects, some species are adapted to feeding on nectar, like the Lesser long-nosed bat shown here (range Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico). The Lesser long-nosed bat is particularly important in pollinating agave and cactus plants. It uses its long muzzle and tongue to reach the nectar and pollen.
William R. Radke, USFWS

8. Hummingbirds are the most common of the bird pollinators
Hummingbirds are the most common of the bird pollinators. In the United States, hummingbird diversity is highest in the Southwest. In the eastern U.S., the Ruby-throated hummingbird (shown) is the only hummingbird species. Hummingbirds will feed on flowers with a wide variety of shapes and colors—not just tubular and red—but they do prefer larger, “showy” flowers with lots of nectar.
There are other bird pollinators, such as honeycreepers in Hawaii, that are very important in the pollination of local plants.
Bill Buchanan, USFWS

9. Bees: bees are the workhorse of the pollinating world.
Mark Vandever, USGS

10. In general, bees have all the characteristics to be excellent pollinators: they’re highly mobile, they’re covered with hairs that pollen sticks to, they’re adapted to feeding on nectar and/or pollen, and some even have specialized structures on the hind legs for storing pollen (“pollen baskets”, or “corbicula”). The bumble bee shown here is carrying the orange pollen in a basket on its hind leg.
Dolores Savignano, USFWS

11. Some bees are social, like honey bees (shown here) and bumble bees
USDA-ARS

12. A Western bumble bee
Stephen Ausmus, USDA-ARS

13. Bee with legs covered with pollen.
Mark Vandever, USGS

14. Many bee species are solitary, that is, they don’t form colonies like those of honey bees. This is a halictid (Halictus confusus), or sweat, bee. Some sweat bees are metallic green or blue.
Dolores Savignano, USFWS

15. A mason bee, the blueberry or blue orchard bee, Osmia ribifloris
A mason bee, the blueberry or blue orchard bee, Osmia ribifloris. These bees are important pollinators of fruit. Mason bees use clay to seal their nest holes. Mason bees and leaf-cutting bees are members of the Megachildae family of bees
Jack Dykinga, USDA-ARS

16. Leafcutter bee (Megachile sp. ): another solitary bee
Leafcutter bee (Megachile sp.): another solitary bee. The leafcutter bees are so-named because many species line the cells of their nests with leaves that they cut out with their specialized mandibles (jaws). Leafcutter bees may nest in the ground, but many nest in small cavities in wood.
Photo source:
License (CC BY 2.0):
Bob Peterson, CC BY 2.0

17. Andrena salictaria – An andrenid, or “mining” bee
Andrena salictaria – An andrenid, or “mining” bee. Andrenids are solitary, ground-nesting bees, usually dull brown or blackish in color.
USGS

18. Butterflies and moths, the Lepidoptera, are another important group of insect pollinators. These are Dakota Skippers (male and female) feeding on a flower.
Andrew Horton, USFWS

19. A red admiral butterfly feeding on milkweed.
Brett Billings, USFWS

20. An Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly
An Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly. Note the characteristic long proboscis (mouthpart that acts like a straw) for feeding on nectar.
Ryan Hagerty, USFWS

21. Two Hyles lineata, sphingid moths on milkweed
Two Hyles lineata, sphingid moths on milkweed. Sphingid moths are sometimes called hummingbird moths because they can hover (like a hummingbird) while collecting nectar with their long proboscis.
Image found at:
License (CC BY 2.0):
Tom Koerner, USFWS CC BY 2.0

22. Another bee?
Dolores Savignano/USFWS

23. Modified hind wing: “haltere”
Flies, Diptera = “Two Wings”
Dolores Savignano, USFWS
No, it’s actually a fly that resembles a bee. This is a syrphid, or hover fly, or flower fly. It doesn’t bite or sting, but its resemblance to a bee or wasp is believed to provide some protection from predators. Flies are easy to distinguish from other insects. If you get a good look at them, you’ll note that they only have two wings, the hind wings are reduced to a pair of small structures called halteres. The scientific name for flies as a group is “Diptera”, which translates to “two wings”. This a fairly diverse group of insects, with some species well adapted to feeding on flowers. Even mosquitoes will feed on flowers occasionally to get nectar as an energy source.

24. Another hover fly on an Ipomopsis polyantha flower
Alicia Langton, USFWS

25. Beetles are the most diverse group of insects, with millions of species worldwide. Some are highly adapted to feeding on flowers, such as this soldier beetle (very common in mid to late summer).
Dolores Savignano, USFWS

26. This is species of long-horn beetle
This is species of long-horn beetle. It gets its name from its long antennae. It’s a male Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle.
John Katz and Joe Silveria, USFWS

27. Wasps and hornets mostly provision their nests with other insects to feed their young, but will also regularly visit flowers to collect nectar. These are tarantula wasps. Their bodies are usually less hairy than bees, so, in general, they are less effective pollinators.
NPS

28. Pollinator Conservation what do pollinators need?
Food
Nectar
Pollen
Larval food source
Nesting Sites
Ground nesting
Cavity nesting
Overwintering Sites
Rick Hansen, USWS
When we talk about conserving pollinators, it’s important to know what they need. Like other animals, they mostly need food and shelter. With insect pollinators, the larvae of many species have a very narrow range of foods (plants) they can eat—like the monarch butterfly larvae and milkweeds. And whether it’s birds, bats, or insects, all pollinators need appropriate nesting sites.
Brett Billings, USFWS

29. Pollinator Conservation Pollinators in Decline
Habitat loss, fragmentation
Invasive species
Pesticides
Diseases
Parasites
There is increasing evidence that pollinators are in decline. In some cases, this is due to habitat loss or fragmentation that results in loss of food and/or shelter. Invasive plant species are a problem in that they replace native species that may be food sources for pollinator larvae, and may be better nectar sources for the pollinators. We really don’t know the scope of pollinator losses from pesticides, but pollinators can be impacted directly from insecticides and indirectly from herbicides that may kill plants used as foods. The impact of new or emerging diseases is also mostly unknown. There is some recent evidence that imported diseases may be affecting honey bees through Colony Collapse Disorder. Imported parasites have impacted honey bees (both tracheal and Varroa mites are well documented problems with honey bee colonies) and likely have impacted bumble bees. Photos: top: Rusty patched bumble bee; bottom: honey bee
Tamara Smith, USFWS
Christopher Gezon, NPS

30. What You Can Do Plant a garden Put up bee nesting boxes
Provide overwintering habitat
Limit pesticide use
What can you do? Provide pollinators with what they need (food and shelter), and limit activities that may harm them, like inappropriate use of pesticides. Bee nesting blocks are a relatively simple project. Simply drill a series of holes into blocks of untreated wood. Line the cavities with paper and replace annually to reduce the spread of disease from one year to the next. Replace the entire block after a few years. Cavity-nesting bees will use these—laying eggs and provisioning their larvae in each hole. Other insects (e.g., wasps) may use them, too. Place them away from areas with lots of foot traffic.
Nell Baldacchino, USFWS
A homemade bee nesting block

31. Pollinator Gardens
Choose plants that flower at different times of the year
Plant in clumps rather than single plants
Provide variety of colors and shapes
Choose native plants whenever possible
They attract native pollinators
Can be better sources of nectar and pollen
Can be a food source for caterpillars
A well-planned pollinator garden will provide food for a variety of pollinating animals throughout the year. Native plants can be a food source for caterpillars, which, of course, become colorful butterflies. When you notice that your native flowers are being eaten by caterpillars, this can be a good thing! So don’t reach for the pesticide.
Choosing plants that flower throughout the year will provide a steady source of nectar. Clumps of the same species of plant are preferred by pollinators. Variety of plants often results in variety of pollinators, and native plants are often better for native pollinators.

32. Monarch Butterfly Conservation
If every cause needs a celebrity champion, the monarch butterfly may be a good choice for pollination. The monarch is probably the most recognized species of butterfly in the world. That one individual can travel through Canada, the United States, and into central Mexico during the annual fall migration fascinates people throughout North America. While the monarch is not an endangered species, the spectacular fall migration of millions of butterflies is seriously threatened by loss of habitat in the overwintering areas and throughout the breeding and migration areas.
An important priority for restoring healthy populations of monarchs in North America is a significant need to increase pollinator habitat, especially milkweed. These milkweed plants will benefit not only monarchs, but other pollinators.
Shauna Marquardt, USFWS 32

33. Monarch Migration and Breeding
While we understand the basics of what monarchs need- native milkweed and nectar sources throughout North America- and that drives habitat conservation efforts forward at full momentum in the immediate term, integrating additional research and monitoring efforts into ongoing conservation is essential for long-term strategy. The more information we have for the species and its habitats, the more effective our conservation efforts will be. 33

34. Monarch Butterfly Conservation
Monarch butterfly conservation is a cooperative effort by the three countries in which the monarch completes its annual life cycle: Mexico, the United States, and Canada. This trinational conservation coordinates research, monitoring and conservation strategies.
In the U.S., several federal agencies, along with the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, are cooperating for “Monarch Habitat Areas” on federal lands that provide monarchs with necessary resources during their larval and adult stages.
Regional fish and wildlife associations are taking a leadership role in monarch and pollinator conservation. They are in the process of creating a eastern and western monarch regional conservation plans. We believe it will take all our combined resources to address this challenge. It’s going to take contributions from all sectors of society -- and we’re seeing many signs of progress across the board.
AnnMarie Krmpotich, USFWS 34

35. Pollinator Conservation for All!
Monarch conservation helps other wildlife!
Debbie Koenigs, USFWS
Monarch and pollinator conservation provides common ground for a multitude of issues. Honeybees, pheasants and quail, water quality, soil health, grassland songbirds, farm income, sustainability. These are all things that creating pollinator habitat can impact. From all of these varying interests, habitat provides common ground. This habitat protects iconic species like the monarch butterfly, but also lesser known species who also use that habitat. Game species rely on those habitats. Our planet relies on native plant habitats to maintain healthy ecosystems.
Rick Hansen, USFWS
Doreen Van Ryswyk, USFWS
Joanna Gilkeson, USFWS

36. Thanks to:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for photos and factual materials for this presentation.
Final content was determined by your presenter and all opinions expressed were those of your presenter.
Photo: Great spangled fritillary butterfly
Alicia Lafever, NPS