‘Pollinator pocket’ serves insects nicely
It doesn’t take massive flowerbeds to make beneficial insects happy — just a few pollen- and nectar-rich plants in a small area, a “pollinator pocket.”
Common areas such as roadsides, schoolyards and parks make good candidates for pollinator pockets. So do idled corners of farm fields.
“A lot of people think that when you plant things for insects that they won’t be pretty,” said Sandra Mason, an extension horticulturist with the University of Illinois in Champaign. “But by selecting certain plants, you can have beauty and help out pollinators as well.”
Lack of space need not be a problem. “Four- to six-foot ovals or 24 square feet are large enough and doable,” Mason said. “They don’t cost a lot of money and they’re easy to maintain.”
Although pollinator pockets may be small, they make a big impact when linked. “Communities become acres,” Mason said.
Bees, whose numbers have declined dramatically in recent years, need pollen and nectar to survive. Cover and nesting sites also are important, so think fourseason and succession gardening while planting. “Select plants that are early, mid-summer and late-season flowering,” Mason said. “Leave the stems up when they quit blooming. Mason bees will use the old stems for laying their eggs and for overwinter- ing. They also provide cover for the birds and the bees.”
Leave the plants standing for a couple of months after your spring cleanup, she said. Any insects still in there will have a chance to emerge.
Hundreds of flowers, shrubs, trees and vines can be used to sustain pollinators. You could search the Internet for native varieties, or just wander around and study some blooms, Mason said. “See which ones are popular with bees and butterflies.”
The agricultural sector also plays a big role in the pollinator-pocket movement, as do organizations like Pheasants Forever that make wildflower seeds available to farmers.
“It’s tough, though,” said Ron Babcock, owner of Babcock Farms, a 65-hectare spread near Glenvil, Nebraska, that includes three dozen honeybee hives. “Trying to convince people they don’t have to plant fencerow to fencerow and that they should take some profitable ground out of production [for pollinator pockets] is not an easy sell.”
Babcock has about half his farm planted with crops and the rest set aside for pollinators. Restoring a pollinator population that’s been in steep decline over the past decade or so won’t happen overnight, Babcock said.
“But I think people are becoming more aware. They aren’t arbitrarily spraying herbicides and insecticides anymore. Many are checking with nearby beekeepers first.”