Minnesota Zoo Farm Babies Pollinators

POLLINATORS: OUR FORGOTTEN FARM BABIES

Pollinators are vital to healthy ecosystems and productive food systems - and no farm would be complete without them! But pollinator numbers across the globe are declining and they need our help! Learn more about the importance of pollinators and how you can act on their behalf.

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Approximately one third of all food humans eat depends on pollinators

Pollinator numbers are declining at alarming rates – 1 in 4 wild bee species in the U.S. is at risk of extinction

Habitat loss, disease, pesticides, and climate change threaten pollinators across the globe

This season, remember to show these hard-working friends some much deserved love!

POLLINATORS NEED US TO ACT, AND YOU CAN HELP!

Native wildflowers provide food and shelter for many pollinators and wildlife! Learn more by visiting our Plant for Pollinators page

Be a messy gardener! Leave standing and dead plant debris in your garden each fall for pollinator overwintering habitat

Avoid pesticide use! Bees and butterflies are sensitive to many chemicals. Spraying pesticides on your lawn and garden will kill plants they need to survive and may kill pollinators themselves

Take some time to appreciate the pollinators in your own backyard!

WHAT IS THE MINNESOTA ZOO DOING TO HELP?

The Minnesota Zoo is committed to the conservation of wildlife and their habitats. The Zoo’s Prairie Butterfly Conservation Project works with other partnering agencies to ensure a future for the state’s most imperiled butterfly species. Through pioneering research and reintroduction efforts, the Minnesota Zoo is fighting to save Dakota skipper and Poweshiek skipperling populations, two butterfly species once common throughout the state but are now at risk of extinction.

In addition, the Minnesota Zoo educates people throughout the state on at-risk pollinators, such as the Monarch butterfly and rusty patched bumble bee, and how to take action to help.

You can learn more about this work and what you can do to help by visiting our Prairie Butterfly Conservation Project page!

POLLINATE YOUR PLATE

Did you know that approximately 1/3 of the food on your plate is dependent on pollinators?? Without healthy pollinator populations like bees and butterflies, our diets would be much less tasty. Here are some common foods and beverages we would miss out on...

Apples, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, grapes, almonds, avocados, coffee and tea, tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, chocolate, squash- even milk and cheese as many of the plants cows eat depend on pollinators!

ACT FOR POLLINATORS

Why are pollinators important?

About 70% of all plant species on earth rely on pollinators
Approximately one third of the food humans eat depends on pollinators
In the US, pollination produces nearly $20 billion worth of crops every year
Pollinators are key to healthy ecosystems. Beyond being integral to plant reproduction and survival, they act as a key food source themselves for many animals. In addition, the plants they support clean water, absorb carbon dioxide, and prevent soil erosion.

Are managed honeybees the only insects that pollinate food crops?

No! At least 80% of the most common crops eaten by humans are pollinated by wild bees and other wildlife, not managed honeybees
And remember, it’s not only bees working hard! Butterflies, beetles, bats, and birds also pollinate

How are pollinators doing?

Worldwide pollinator numbers are declining due to factors that include habitat loss, disease, pesticide use, and climate change
1 in 4 wild bee species in the US is at risk of extinction
The iconic monarch butterfly has declined by over 90 percent in just the past 20 years. One of the reasons for this decline is the lack of milkweed, the only plant host monarch caterpillars survive on.

What can you do to help?

Plant native wildflowers, such as milkweed, in your garden
Plant to have wildflowers blooming throughout the entire growing season so you can help the various life stages and species of pollinators
Convert your turf lawn to a pollinator-friendly lawn by mowing less frequently and allowing “weedy”plants like clover to flower
Eliminate or reduce your use of pesticides on lawns and gardens
Leave dead and standing plant debris in the fall, instead of clearing it from your garden, so that overwintering insects can utilize it for habitat

Cool facts!

A single bee can visit up to 5,000 flowers in a day
To make one pound of honey a hive of bees must travel over 55,000 miles and visit two million flowers
There are estimated to be about 2,000 vertebrate species, like mammals and reptiles, that act as pollinators
At least 80% of the most common crops eaten by humans are pollinated by wild bees and other wildlife, not managed honeybees
Apples, squash, almonds, blueberries, cranberries, kiwis, melons, pears, and plums are some of the crops that utilize pollinators for reproduction
A single female blueberry bee will visit about 50,000 blueberry flowers in a few short weeks, resulting in over 6,000 blueberries for human consumption

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