About Pollinators

About pollinators

Pollinators are essential to human life. More than two thirds of the world’s crop species, whose fruits and seeds together provide over 30% of the foods and beverages we consume, require the presence of a pollinator.

Pollination, carried out by a variety of pollinator species, is a vital stage in the life cycle of all flowering plants. Without bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, and others, a significant portion of our food crops would fail. Currently, many pollinators are in extreme decline due to chemical use, habitat loss, pests, diseases, and climate change.

What you can do

Be a chemical-free zone. Choose natural options and natural predators (ladybugs, praying mantis) for insecticide. Confirm the seeds you’re buying don’t include neonicotinoids.

Choose a seed mix. Make sure you have a variety of native plants that bloom throughout the growing seasons. In addition to flowering plants, be sure to add some native milkweeds to feed monarch caterpillars. Southwest Monarch Study recommends gardens include at least ten milkweeds to be effective monarch migratory “waystations”. See Info Hub for more information on choosing native plants and creating monarch waystations.

Water. Provide a shallow vessel for water so pollinators can get a drink.