Here’s the buzz: How you can help with pollinating

In the years that I was growing vegetables almost exclusively, my relationship with insects was chiefly focused on trying to keep them from harming my plants. I wanted to get a harvest! So, apart from appreciating the bees that would v i sit the large, deep yellow squash blossoms, my attention was on ma int a inin g vigilance against any number of insect pests, including cucumber beetles, potato beet le s , and bean beetles, squash vine borers, cabbage moths, and tomato hornworms.

Over the past several years, that has changed. It started with a single echinacea plant; it was impossible not to notice the metallic-green bees that would visit the cone-shaped clusters of flowers. Thanks to the internet, I learned that these beautiful insects are called sweat bees, apparently attracted to the salt in human sweat. Shouldn’t they be called Nefertiti’s bees or something else appropriate to.their exotic, iridescent appearance?

That single spark of beauty in the garden would have been enough, but a few days later I stepped outside my front door to discover an orange-and-black monarch butterfly sucking nectar from an echinacea blossom. It was one of those spontaneous exhale moments: ohhhh!

I f ina lly understood how easy it is: plant it, and they will come. I don’t know how they do it; don’t know how tiny insects find a single food source or host plant in a vast sea of green and growing things, especially when there is no color to light the way as in the case of milkweed plants. Is it random coincidence? Do insects just fly or crawl around until they stumble into the exact plant they need? Or is there some sophisticated mechanism I don’t know about?

These and other, similar experiences helped me realize that you have to plant pollinatorfriendly species with a certain amount of faith, because unless you are looking at the right moment or have time to sit and watch for pollinator activity, you may think nothing’s happening. Or the insects might be so small you simply don’t see them. There are tiny, bee-like insects that hang out on and around my trailing lobelia; unless I get really close, I don’t know they’re there.

While the planting may be simple, it’s important to know how plants were raised. In a June 25, 2014, article in magazine (“How Your Bee-friendly Garden May be Killing Bees”), Brian Keim reports that, “More than half of ostensibly bee-friendly plants sampled at 18 Home Depot, Lowe’s and Walmart garden centers in the U.S. and Canada contained high levels of neonicotinoids, which are considered highly toxic to bees, butterflies and other insect pollinators. Even when they don’t kill pollinators outright, neonicotinoids can impair their immune systems and sense of navigation, potentially turning gardens and backyards into flowery traps.”

To avoid poisoning bees and other insects, ask about how plants were raised, buy from local plants sales in the spring, or grow your own plants from seed. It’s also helpful to have an idea of what you want before you shop. A great place to start is at the website of the Valley Forge Audubon Society, where you will find a list of native plants that provide nectar and pollen. (Go to https://valleyforgeaudubon.org/bfn/recommended-plants/)