NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/853309
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2017 • NEBRASKAland 29 of pollinator conservation is the availability of a diverse mixture of flowering plants throughout the growing season. Limited food results in smaller bumblebees, which can't forage as far from the nest. Food limitations also reduce the number of queens produced by a colony. Roadsides can be extremely valuable to foraging pollinators, but mowing and herbicide spraying eliminates many of the flowers that bees and other pollinators need. Pasture and hay meadow management can also be critically important in terms of ensuring the persistence and availability of wildflowers to bees. Grazing systems and conservative herbicide spraying regimens that preserve plant diversity and allow wildflowers to bloom in some areas each year can play large roles in pollinator conservation. Leaving edges or corners of hay meadows uncut can help reduce the impacts of losing huge swaths of flowering plants during the peak activity period of bumblebee colonies. Early spring is a particularly vulnerable time for pollinators because flowering plants are at a premium. Many shrub species are especially important resources to bumblebees and other pollinators during the spring, so allowing those to persist along field and pasture edges or other locations can be very beneficial. Spring is also a time when dandelions, annual mustards and other similar "weedy" plants flourish, and those species can be important for early season pollinators. Allowing those plants to persist in some areas can help bees make it through a tough time of year. Pollinator habitat is important in both rural and urban areas of Nebraska, and many bumblebee species occur in both. Flower gardens that contain a diversity of native wildflowers and other pollinator-friendly species across the entire growing season can make valuable contributions to conservation, and may increase fruit and vegetable yields in small community or backyard gardens. Leaving last year's flowering stems and piles of old vegetation or sticks can provide important nesting habitat for many bee species. Limiting herbicide, fungicide, and pesticide use is also important. Consult with Nebraska Extension professionals for best bee- wise landscape practices in your area. The Future Pollinators play crucial roles in keeping both ecological and agricultural systems running effectively, and bumblebees are key components of the pollinator community. Their size and abundance allows them to cover large areas and pollinate numerous different plant species. Nebraska has a rich diversity of bumblebee species, and our relatively intact habitats across much of the state should help support strong populations of species that are declining elsewhere. Managing our prairies and woodlands to encourage diverse plant communities and abundant nesting opportunities for bumblebees and other pollinators should be a top priority conservation strategy. In addition, people living in town and in more fragmented parts of the state can also help conserve these important and fascinating creatures. ■ If you want to help pollinators, consider participating in the University of Nebraska's Bumble Boosters pollinator conservation education programs, bumbleboosters.unl.edu or Bumble Boosters on Facebook, and Xerces Society's Bumble Bee Watch program, bumblebeewatch.org. These projects provide both education and the tools for helping pollinators through research initiatives. Thank you to Doug Golick at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Mike Arduser in Missouri for help with this article. Native thistles, including the Platte thistle shown here, provide critically important resources for bumblebees and other Nebraska pollinators. Including native wildflowers in gardens is an important way to support both bumblebees and many other pollinators.