Bee-ing a pollinator proponent

Jana Mathia, Gazette Editor | May 14, 20200

Don Marshal count

The black-chinned hummingbird is part of the army of pollinators visiting Whitman County blooms.

COLFAX – While not everyone wants or has the space for beehives, anyone can help support native pollinators and bees by providing feed, water and/or shelter.

"What you do for the honeybees helps our native pollinators," said Charlene Purtee. Purtee is a backyard beekeeper and pollinator enthusiast who has made several stops at Whitman County libraries to share programs on beekeeping and native pollinators.

Purtee noted that while honeybees are fantastic pollinators, the native pollinators do better with pollinating native plants. Native pollinators include bumblebees, moths, flies, wasps, butterflies and birds, namely hummingbirds. If you were to look at a flower, if there are bugs on it, they are pollinators unless they are predators. They range in size with many of the bees and flies smaller than honeybees.

Providing food is one of the biggest things a person can do for pollinators. A variety of flowers and plants are needed to provide food throughout the year. Unlike honeybees, most pollinators do not live in groups or stock up food to over winter. Many pollinators, including honeybees, evolved so that once they hit one type of flower, the rest of that flight they only visit the same kind of flower. This helps plants pollinate with their own kind. Therefore, Purtee encourages people to plant in groups to make it easier for the pollinators to do their jobs. What they really need, she said, is the ability to get from one plant to the next without a lot of distance and in a safe corridor.

"Variety is also very important," Purtee said. Like humans, pollinators need a variety of food to be healthy. Different pollinators will also visit flowers at different times of the day so things could always be buzzing about the blossoms.

As to the location of the food, the pollinators do not really care. Purtee has found seen a bumblebee in the crack of a sidewalk to get to a flower. While the pollinators don't mind where the flowers are, a conscientious person should aim to plant things where the pollinator's flight path won't be interrupted or put the creatures in danger. According to Purtee, when pollinators are visiting flowers, they are non-aggressive and don't mind being watched―with the exception of wasps―and aren't a threat to humans, but people usually don't like walking into the path of a flying insect. Once bees create a flight path, they will keep using it regardless of what may come into that flight path.

Water is another key element people can provide for their neighborhood pollinators. People can provide access to fresh, running water. Purtee recommended having something in the water to help keep the insects from drowning―such as a stick they can climb out on and dry themselves if they fall in. Once bees find a good source of water, they will keep coming back to it. It is also important to avoid letting the water become stagnant.

Providing areas of shelter for pollinators is another step in supporting them. This can be as easy as doing a little less yard work. A pile of leaves in the corner of the yard can provide a refuge for pollinators to overwinter. Being a little less judicious on the weeding can provide a place. When mowing the lawn, raise the cutting blade to four inches so clover and alfalfa blooms can keep growing, providing food and shelter. Dead plants that leave behind hollow tubes are shelters for pollinators.

One significant problem facing pollinators is poison from pesticides and herbicides. Purtee said if people have to use chemicals to use them sparingly. While farmers may get blamed for use of chemicals, farmers use their treatments correctly whereas homeowners tend to be the culprits in using excess chemical. Getting away from chemicals entirely is even better for the pollinators.

"Perfectly kept lawns are actually a desert for pollinators," Purtee remarked.

Gardeners can utilize the pollinators' instincts and make them work for the benefit of the gardener. Purtee noted there are many books and resources that instruct on companion planting―planting specific things together or near each other to benefit each other. When gardens become more pollinator-friendly, it also has the potential to bring in good predators that will protect the garden plants.

At a recent pollinator summit, Purtee noted an emphasis on being careful with wildflower packets as they can become "weeds in a tin." Wildflowers that are not local or native can choke out local flowers which are significantly more important to the local or native pollinators. Some pollinators have developed specifically for certain flowers―they can do more, but not as well.

Even if it is just a small area, a little bit of food, water or shelter can help out native pollinators. By having blooms from early spring into late fall, the pollinators get the food they need and the gardener gets to enjoy the beauty blossoming about them.