Praise the Pollinators

Praise the Pollinators by Larraine Roulston ‘Protecting Our Ecosystem’ “Spring is here, and with it, a renewed opportunity to take action for nature.” —The Sierra Club Canada. This year, National Pollinator Week is celebrated on June 22-26. Pollination occurs when butterflies, moths, wasps, bats, hummingbirds, and bees seek food and shelter on plants. Pollination also happens through the activities of some snails, beetles, flies, snails, mosquitoes, slugs, birds, and ants. Life in a beehive is one of the marvels of nature. These insects work as a team and always put the well-being of the hive before themselves. Of the thousands of bees in a honey bee colony, only the queen lays eggs. In the summer she can lay 2000 eggs a day. Those eggs hatch into white, legless young. Caring for them is the job of young adult bees. These young bees also build comb from the wax that they secrete from special glands in their bodies, clean the hive, make honey, feed and clean the queen, guard the hive, and help ventilate it by beating their wings. As they age, they leave the hive to collect nectar and pollen from flowers. The nectar is turned into honey which, together with pollen, feeds the colony. Bees breathe through 10 pairs of spiracles on the sides of their body. Their five eyes detect light, sense the presence of a predator, and make bees brilliant navigators. Allow some dandelions, daisies, and clover to flourish on your lawn. These are especially great for the bees in early spring. Avoid bee-killing pesticides. Use only natural pesticides and fertilizers. Ladybugs, spiders and praying mantises will naturally keep all of nature’s populations in check. When a monarch caterpillar is ready to become a butterfly, it climbs onto a safe place. The skin begins to split along the back forming a green chrysalis that pushes the old skin away. The chrysalis twirls and whirls, attaching itself to the sticky pad that the caterpillar had previously spun. Finally, it stops moving and anchors itself in place. Hanging upside down, the caterpillar pulls itself up into the shape of a ‘J’. The chrysalis then hardens into a jewel-like jade with gold trim and spots. For 10-14 days the transformation takes place and a beautiful butterfly can be seen through the chrysalis shell before it emerges. Eventually, the chrysalis begins to split down the front, and a monarch butterfly with small wings and a big abdomen swings out. Within minutes the new butterfly pumps liquid from its abdomen into the veins of its wings. The butterfly also uncoils and coils its proboscis repeatedly, in order to knit the two pieces into a solid straw-like tongue used to sip flower nectar. It is now ready to soar and begin its life as a monarch butterfly. Truly, this is one of the great natural phenomena of the insect world. On Insects: “The little things that run the world.” —E.O. Wilson 1987: American biologist, naturalist, and author.