Here I am, about to go slice up some zucchini to dehydrate and contemplating what of my summer garden should now be cleaned up. The two are related. If I want zucchini next year too (and I do), I need to be restrained in how much fading plant material I remove from the yard and garden now. Why? Pollinators. Pollinating insects are in strong decline. That’s a problem. Many of our food plants won’t produce if these pollinators don’t do their jobs. That makes protecting the pollinators a prepping concern.
Pollinators: Who needs ’em, anyway?
Most human food comes from flowering plants, either directly or through animals we use for meat, dairy, and egg production. Most flowering plants are pollinated either by wind (grasses, including corn) or insects (most vegetables and fruits, soy and other beans, etc.).
What’s that mean? I found out first-hand when I tried using row covers to keep squash beetles at bay. They flowered, but wouldn’t fruit until I let the bees at them. Many of those insect-pollinated species work this way; they won’t even make the food part of the plant unless they’re fertilized by a pollinator insect visit.
But pollinator numbers are dropping fast, and across the board. Germany has seen a 75% drop in flying insects in its nature preserves, for example (1). Many areas no longer have enough wild pollinators and crops are currently supported by traveling hive-masters and their sort-of-domesticated honeybees. The trends are really disturbing. (2)
Why are pollinators in trouble?
There are lots of reasons. I bopped around to more than a dozen reputable research sites, to get a broader view. There was a strong consensus (3) that major contributors include introduction of new pests (Varroa mites that parasitize honeybees, for example), pesticide exposure, habitat loss, and climate changes.
What’s a prepper to do about the pollinator problem?
Well, grasses don’t need pollinators. Wheat and corn make nice crops, right? But depending too much on one or two crops is Worst Prepping Ever. Ask the ghosts of the Irish of the 1840s who died in the potato famine how that single-crop thing worked out for them. Especially in unpredictable circumstances, diversity of food sources is important insurance. Fortunately, there are things preppers can do to protect pollinators, to our mutual benefit.
Pesticides kill pollinators, too
We keep our garden mostly organic (using no manufactured pesticides; but some manufactured fertilizer when it seems needed). It’s not about being a tree hugger — though I admit I like me some trees. It’s about the fact that pesticides aren’t very good about distinguishing between insect species you want and those you don’t want.
Once you start using the spray and powder pesticides, natural controls of the pests lessen and you get more dependent on the manufactured controls. That’s not where a prepper wants to be when the stuff hits the fan, is it? We’d rather lose a little crop to the pests and save both the money (manufactured pesticides ain’t cheap) and the beneficial insects.
If you want or need the help of the chemical industry in pest control, some ways of doing it are better than others. You can find some good suggestions here.
Set a good pollinator table
The more targets you have for pollinators throughout their active season, the more welcoming your habitat is. Your garden plants are probably not enough to make a great bee neighborhood. Fortunately, bees love many species that preppers have good reason to love, too.
Fresh herbs, fruits, and flowers (especially those with medicinal properties) are all good for preppers; and for the pollinators preppers want to keep around. I know my mint took me less than half an hour of work to pluck from the roadside (literally), replant, and keep going for more than two decades. I like it to freshen tea and ice water, and bees love the stuff. Rosemary, oregano, and basil always draw lots of pollinators; as does the cone flower (Echinacea)
A prairie wildflower mix in a back yard bed needs very little care and can be left standing through the winter. Bees Love Them!
Pollinators need a place to overwinter
It’s good to chat with friends. A couple of years ago I was talking with one who happens to be a conservation biologist. It was fall, and I mentioned I was about to go shift the remains of the annual plants out of my flowerbeds and garden into the compost pile. Noooo! came the reply. “If you like your pollinators, clean up the beds in the spring right after the first new growth comes out.”
I read around a bit, and of course she was right. I’d just been thinking of honeybees who overwinter in hives. Many of the wild pollinators, though, aren’t hive creatures. They overwinter in much smaller groups. Many of them hole up inside the debris of the annuals they served all summer. Keep the residues in place over the winter and you have more bees the next year.
Now, I’m not going to pretend I can eyeball my garden and get a good bee census, but it sure seems like I’ve had more bees since I made the switch. I can definitely state I’ve had a lot of bees, anyway. And good fruit setting.
Pollinator hostels?
They do sell nifty little ‘bee hotels’ that are supposed to aid pollinators. I almost got a couple myself. But, then, there’s this pesky research thing. It doesn’t appear they help the native pollinators much. (4) They did increase populations of invasive wasp species. There’s not much research out on this yet so there isn’t a clear message yet; but the initial reports do not encourage me to start a-building. Besides, the bees at The Place seem to be doing quite well, based on the management practice of ‘don’t spray junk on them and give them a natural prairie habitat to live in’.
Bee hotels look neat, but initial research doesn’t really support their effectiveness.
Humans as pollinators
As detailed in a post I wrote earlier this year, it is possible to hand-pollinate some crops if necessary. It’s also quite time-consuming. Better to have the option than not, but really, if I can get the bees to do it for me, I’m in.
References
1) Rhodes, C. J. (2018). Pollinator Decline – An Ecological Calamity in the Making? Science Progress, 101(2), 121–160. https://doi.org/10.3184/003685018X15202512854527
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3) Potts, Simon G. et al. Global pollinator declines: trends, impacts and drivers. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 25, Issue 6, 345 – 353
4) J. Scott MacIvor* and Laurence Packer. ‘Bee Hotels’ as Tools for Native Pollinator Conservation: A Premature Verdict? PLoS One. 2015; 10(3): e0122126. Published online 2015 Mar 18. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122126