University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center (WCROC)

Morris, MN

Who are Pollinators

• Bees have been slowly dying over the last 50 years

• Since World War II, managed bee hives in the US

have dropped from 4.5 to 2 million

• Bee keepers are currently losing 30% of their

colonies each year

• Over 90% of all flowering plants and over 75% of the

staple crop plants that feed humankind rely on animal

pollinators

Multiple and Interacting Causes of Bee Death

• Flowerless landscape

• Diseases/parasites

• Monoculture-landscape dominated by

corn and soybeans

• Pesticides-residue collected on bees

they then bring home to their hives

Pesticide Concern

• A new class of

insecticides called

neonicotinoids was

recently introduced

• This a systemic

insecticide-absorbed

through the plants

vascular system, which

makes the entire plant

toxic to insects

• Works well for

unwanted pests but the

chemicals go into the

nectar and pollen that

pollinators need

• Chemical may persist

for years

What can we do:

• Plant bee friendly

flowers without using

pesticides

Pollinators Touch our Lives

Every Day • Role in flowering plant

reproduction and production

of most fruits and vegetables

• When bees have good

access to nutrition, humans

have better access to good

nutrition through their

pollination services

• Every third mouthful of food

we eat, directly or indirectly,

depends on honeybee

pollination

Attracting Beneficial Insects Just who are we talking about here?

Bumble Bee Honey Bee

Attracting Beneficial Insects Just who are we talking about here?

Carpenter bee

Leafcutter bee

Sweat bee

Mason bee

Syrphid fly

Bees at the University of Minnesota

• Bee lab is the only research

program in MN, WI, IA and

the Dakotas

• These states are the top

honey-producing regions in

the US

Marla Spivak and her group are

focusing on:

• Promoting health of bee

pollinators

• Breeding bees for resistance

to disease and parasites

• Discovering the benefits of

propolis (bee-collected plant

resins) to bee and human

health

Monarch Butterflies

• November 1st, Mexicans

celebrate the “Day of the Dead”,

and is also traditionally the day

that millions of monarch

butterflies fly into Mexico

• This year, for the first time in

memory, the monarch butterflies

didn’t come on this day

• Last year’s low of 60 million now

seems great compared with the

fewer than three million that

have shown up so far this year

What can we do to Help

• Managing roadsides for bees

and butterflies will create

important habitat for wildlife

• With 4 acres of open space lost

to development every minute,

roadsides are too important to

be neglected

• Roadsides in the U.S. cover

more than 10 million acres of

land and support valuable

habitat

Finding Solutions

Restore Habitat • Make choices around your

home to restore habitat for

endangered pollinators while

beautifying our own lives and

surroundings

• Eliminate a certain percent

of turf grass to some kind of

pollinator habitat

• Create bee nesting blocks

Garden Nest sites

• Create a stone pile for

overwintering pollinator insects

• Leave some patches of bare

ground for ground-nesting bees

• Wood-nesting bees are

attracted to stumps, dead

standing trees, or other plants

with hollow stems

• Bumble bees may nest in old

rodent burrows, under thick

grasses, in brush piles or in

stone walls

Diversify Your Landscape

• Bees rely on different types of

flowers to supply them with food

• Certain flowers provide only

pollen which is a main source of

protein while other flowers

provide both nectar and pollen,

providing both protein and

carbohydrates

• If allowed to bolt (go to flower),

unharvested garden vegetables

such as radishes, broccoli, basil

and carrots can support

numerous bees

Bee balm

Monarda fistulosa

Plants for Minnesota Bees

• Native plants are 4

times more attractive to

native bees than exotic

flowers

• Colors that particularly

attract native bees are

blue, purple, violet,

white and yellow

Purple Coneflower

Echinacea spp.

Plants for Minnesota Bees

• Plant flowers in clumps.

Where space allows, make

the clumps 4’ or more in

diameter

• Bees are all different sizes,

have different tongue

lengths, and will feed on

different shaped flowers.

Providing a range of flower

shapes means more bees

can benefit

Plants for Minnesota Bees

Sunflower

Helianthus spp.

Joe-pye weed

Eupatorium maculatum

Plants for Minnesota Bees

Pussy Willow

Salix discolor

Autumn Joy Sedum

Hylotelephium telephium

Diversity of Plants Flowering

all Season

• Providing a diverse

array of plants will help

ensure that you support

a diverse array of bee

species

• Do your best to provide

blooming flowers from

April to September

Blazing Star

Liatris spp.

Attracting Hummingbirds to the

Landscape

• Include clumps of bright red,

orange or pink flowers, such as:

columbine, bleeding heart, coral

bells, and bee balm or sweet

william, nicotiana and lavender

• Plants with red, tubular flowers

are particularly attractive to

hummingbirds. Try trumpet vine,

scarlet runner bean, cardinal

vine or dropmore scarlet

honeysuckle

• Preferred trees and shrubs

include: crabapple, birch,

Siberian pea shrub and currant

Attracting Native Pollinators

• Comprehensive guidebook on

how to protect and encourage

the activity of North American

native pollinators

• Written by the Xerces Society,

an international nonprofit

organization that is leading the

way in pollinator conservation

• This book presents a thorough

overview of the problem along

with positive solutions to

maintain healthy plant

communities, provide food for

wildlife, and beautify the

landscape with flowers

University of Minnesota West Central Research and Outreach Center

Morris, MN

Steve Poppe

Horticulture Scientist

poppesr@morris.umn.edu

The Horticulture Display Garden is

located to the east of the University of

Minnesota Morris campus. Look for the

wind turbines to guide you.

For more information, please visit

http://wcroc.cfans.umn.edu