By Greg Wagner
What you may not know about me is that I am a lover of wildflowers.
Seeing, smelling, identifying and just being amid native wildflowers are on my list of my favorite outdoor pursuits in Nebraska’s landscape.
And you know what? Those wildflowers are more important than ever! No, scratch that. Indirectly, those native wildflowers are vital to all life on our planet Earth!
Allow me to explain.
Native wildflowers provide essential food for pollinators, which, in turn, provide food for us.
For one out of every three bites of food you eat, you need to thank a bee, butterfly, beetle, ant, wasp, bird or other animal transferring pollen from one plant to another! In fact, these animals on the hunt for nectar, pollen or other floral rewards provide pollination services critical to fruit, nut and seed production, and moreover, about 80% crop plant species we grow depend on pollinators!
Pollinators contribute substantially to the U.S. economy and are vital to keeping fruits, nuts and vegetables in our diets. Many specialty crops grown in the Midwest (apples, blueberries, cranberries, pumpkins) are dependent on pollination services In the U.S., pollination produces some $2 billion worth of products annually.
Planting native wildflowers supplies habitat for pollinators. Not only is pollinator habitat good for the bees, butterflies, bats, beetles and even small mammals, but pollinator habitat is also excellent brood rearing habitat for pheasants, quail and grassland songbirds. Pollinator habitat—native flowering plants and grasses—attract soft-bodied insects that pheasant chicks, and other ground-nesting chicks, rely on for survival during the first 6-8 weeks of life. Interestingly, for chickadees, it takes about 100 caterpillars per day to feed a nestling. That is about 5,000 caterpillars by the time a clutch of three is ready to fly.
Pollinators are essential not only for plants, but are keystone species that help many other types of animals. If they disappear, we will lose a lot of the other animals that we enjoy seeing.
Yes, there is a problem, a major problem. There continues to be a reduction in abundance of insect and other animal pollinators in many ecosystems worldwide due to the loss of floral diversity, as well as fungicides, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, pests and pathogens, diseases, invasive and non-native species and long-term changes to climate among other issues.
Regarding monarch butterfly populations, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the western monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 90% since the 1980s. Also, many honey bee keepers are experiencing noticeable losses annually.
With National Pollinator Week coming up on the calendar from June 16-22, it is time once again to draw attention to the cycle and plight of these pollinators and the diverse habitat they need to survive.
I am proud to say that I have done my part to develop a beautiful array of beneficial native wildflowers in the grassland acres on my brother’s southeast Nebraska farm that I help him manage. I have also assisted pollinators in the front and back yards of our Bennington, Nebraska home with targeted native wildflower plantings.
There is no better time than now to ask each of ourselves this question: “What have I personally done to help the pollinator problem, if anything?”
Remember, any of us can help pollinators. Whether we live in a house, rural area, or even an apartment, there is something that you can do.
Ways to Help Pollinators in Nebraska
- Establish a diversity of plants native to your region.
- Check out incentives for planting wildflower seed mixes in the USDA’s Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or other habitat-related programs.
- Look into the Monarch Waystation program where oftentimes you can get “pollinator certified habitat” through the county.
- Avoid using harmful fungicides, pesticides, herbicides and insecticides.
- Buy plants from a local nursery or arboretum and ask if they are pesticide-free.
- Provide connected habitat of trees, shrubs, bunch grasses and perennials on your farm, ranch, and acreage or in your lawn or lot, and avoid mowing fall grasses until the following spring.
- If you plant non-native plants, make certain they are not invasive. Remember that pollinators do not always use cultivars. For example, flowers that have many more petals than normal might not be accessible by the pollinators that would have visited the original native species. Likewise, nectar and pollen in cultivars might be altered enough to be no longer attractive to pollinators.
- Have a water source that allows small pollinators to drink safely near plantings of native flowers. Include rocks in the water so pollinators have a dry place to land.
- Plan for blooms throughout the seasons to provide a constant flow of nectar. For example, Redbuds are early bloomers, while Goldenrods, Gayfeathers, Asters and others bloom right up into November. Of course, many wildflowers and perennials bloom right through spring and summer!
- Leave some bare patches of earth for digger bees, and set out bee boxes for cavity nesting bees.
- If you can, provide moist dirt areas by flower patches to invite butterfly puddling.
- Keep a little untidiness in flowerbeds or natural areas — this provides shelter for pollinators!
- Plant caterpillar host plants like the Common Milkweed and Violet. Monarch butterflies cannot survive without native Milkweed; their caterpillars only eat Milkweed plants. Common milkweeds are also a host plant for other specialized insects, and a nectar source for many pollinators. Violets, with their very early spring blossoms, are host plants for the declining Regal Fritillary butterfly.
- As a Nebraskan, you can check out the Game and Parks’ Nebraska Pollinator Week website, which lists statewide Pollinator Week events, community science opportunities and additional pollinator resources.
- On the national level, visit www.Pollinator.Org for details.