Pollinators are mostly insects, like bees and butterflies, that bring pollen from one plant to another. Pollinators facilitate the growth of fruit and seeds and enable propagation. Without pollinators we would have very little fruit and vegetables to harvest. Without pollinators we lose songbirds and other wildlife that depend on pollinators as their food source.

The drastic decrease of insects and pollinators should be a concern for everyone. The good news is that our yards can help pollinators, and it’s easy, all we have to do is……less. Start with considering your lawn as an area rug, rather than a wall-to-wall carpet, with enough vegetative growth around it for animals and pollinators to shelter and nest. Don’t clean all the dead branches and leaves. These provide valuable habitat for pollinators. And, most important, don’t use toxins. Whatever sales literature tells you, there is NO “safe” pesticide that targets a single species. Also make sure the plants you purchase aren’t treated with systemic pesticides. Plants, and plants from seeds, that are treated with systemic pesticides, like neonicotinoids, are highly toxic to insects, and remain so for many years.

Most pollinators need native plants to support their offspring. Many bees rely on the pollen of specific native flowers, while butterfly and moth larvae depend on host plants that naturally occur in their habitats. Without these native plants, their young cannot survive to adulthood..