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A while back, we did a post on Pollinators in Peril, focusing on our native Mason Bees and how we can protect them by providing habitat. Last week Grist featured an piece by John Upton about another pollinator on the brink of extinction, bumblebees:
Amid the plague of colony collapse disorder (CCD), some farmers are looking back to native pollinators like the rusty-patched bumblebee — as well as hummingbirds and butterflies — to help ensure that the nation can continue growing food. And in the process, they’re discovering a stinging reality that researchers have known for more than a decade: Many of North America’s once-plentiful bumblebee species have all but disappeared.
Upton describes how bumblebees and other native pollinators are critical for the survival of blooming plants, and in turn, our own survival as a species. But the disappearance of native pollinators such as bumblebees has largely been overshadowed by media coverage of Colony Collapse Disorder affecting the world’s honeybee population.
All hope is not lost, however. By building a pollinator sanctuary in your yard, or even on your window sill, you can help protect bumblebees and other insects:
[T]he Xerces Society is encouraging folks to plant bumblebee-friendly gardens and take other steps to help give the six-legged critters a leg up (or three). Even a window planter box can provide them with nutritious fodder.
Read the whole article here, including information on how to build your own bumblebee nest.
Tags: Bee Box, Bees, bumblebees, Grist, Learn More, News, pollinators
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