Pollination Partnerships!

1. According to information on the Pollinator Power Party website, why are pollinators around the world experiencing global population declines?

Habitat loss and fragmentation

Pollution

Pesticide use

All of the above!

Over the past 70 years, the United States has experienced a dramatic decline in honey bee colonies from about 5.9 million in 1947 to just 2.7 million in 2017--a 55% reduction. A surveyor from Michigan State University found population numbers for half of Michigan’s bumblebee species have declined by 50% or more. Visit the Pollinator Power Party website to learn more.

Explanation

Over the past 70 years, the United States has experienced a dramatic decline in honey bee colonies from about 5.9 million in 1947 to just 2.7 million in 2017--a 55% reduction. A surveyor from Michigan State University found population numbers for half of Michigan’s bumblebee species have declined by 50% or more. Visit the Pollinator Power Party website to learn more.

2. Which of these creatures is a pollinator?

Hummingbird

Ground beetle

Butterflies and moths

Solitary bees and syrphid flies

All of the above!

The other three answers probably didn't surprise you, but I'll bet you didn't bet on beetles as pollinators! Of the world’s almost 350,000 flowering plants, including native Wild Ginger, it is thought that beetles are responsible for pollinating close to 90 percent of them!

Explanation

The other three answers probably didn't surprise you, but I'll bet you didn't bet on beetles as pollinators! Of the world’s almost 350,000 flowering plants, including native Wild Ginger, it is thought that beetles are responsible for pollinating close to 90 percent of them!

3. On the EIC PolliNation web page, what actions can we take in our own neighborhoods and communities to help pollinators around the world?

Plant native flower species and trees to provide food and host plants for pollinators

Put up "insect hotels" around your yard and garden to welcome pollinators

Reduce or eliminate pesticide use in your home and garden

Do ALL of these things and more!!

The Environmental Interpretive Center welcomes individuals interested in Michigan pollinators to participate in the PolliNation Project. Although Covid-19 has altered workshop plans, there are still ways to welcome pollinators to your yard, identify them, and virtually report your findings as a Citizen Scientist. Check out the PolliNation YouTube video for an overview of the project's goals and plans.

Explanation

The Environmental Interpretive Center welcomes individuals interested in Michigan pollinators to participate in the PolliNation Project. Although Covid-19 has altered workshop plans, there are still ways to welcome pollinators to your yard, identify them, and virtually report your findings as a Citizen Scientist. Check out the PolliNation YouTube video for an overview of the project's goals and plans.

4. Which flowers are helpful to local pollinators?

Varieties of Goldenrod species

Dandelion

Wild Bergamot, also called Bee Balm

All of the above!

Yes, dandelions DO have a purpose! One stem of a dandelion holds 50-100 individual flowers full of pollen and nectar. Keep a section of your yard open to dandelions for early pollination. At the other end of summer, goldenrod species are among the last sip of nectar available to pollinators. Goldenrod pollen is insect dispersed, unlike wind-dispersed ragweed pollen, often the cause of allergy problems. Bee Balm is very well named, even though a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly is pictured... :)

Explanation

Yes, dandelions DO have a purpose! One stem of a dandelion holds 50-100 individual flowers full of pollen and nectar. Keep a section of your yard open to dandelions for early pollination. At the other end of summer, goldenrod species are among the last sip of nectar available to pollinators. Goldenrod pollen is insect dispersed, unlike wind-dispersed ragweed pollen, often the cause of allergy problems. Bee Balm is very well named, even though a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly is pictured... :)

5. Why is this "fly in disguise" not a bee?

Flies, as a group, have one set of wings; bees, wasps, and hornets have two sets of wings

Fly antennae are short and stubby, while bees have longer, movable, elbow-shaped antennae.

Bees, wasps, and hornets have stingers. Flies have no stingers, but can inflict painful bites with their scissor-like mouthparts!

All of the above!

Syrphid flies, also called hover flies for the way they fly, are frequent flower visitors to a wide range of wild plants, as well as agricultural crops, and are often considered the second-most important group of pollinators after wild bees.

Explanation

Syrphid flies, also called hover flies for the way they fly, are frequent flower visitors to a wide range of wild plants, as well as agricultural crops, and are often considered the second-most important group of pollinators after wild bees.

6. What is this structure?

Dispenser for alternative options to plastic straws

Way to show support for UM-Dearborn

"Insect hotel" for native pollinators

Bird house for verrrry tiny birds

In the wild, solitary insect species, like wood-boring beetles and solitary bees, search for cavities in wood to lay eggs. These cavities are typically left by burrowing beetles, woodpeckers, or the tree’s own natural growth. Creating an insect hotel on your own is an easy way to add a creative and functional feature to your garden or landscape. The most important feature of the hotel should be to keep it as natural as possible.

Explanation

In the wild, solitary insect species, like wood-boring beetles and solitary bees, search for cavities in wood to lay eggs. These cavities are typically left by burrowing beetles, woodpeckers, or the tree’s own natural growth. Creating an insect hotel on your own is an easy way to add a creative and functional feature to your garden or landscape. The most important feature of the hotel should be to keep it as natural as possible.

7. How do honeybees give their sisters directions to good nectar sources?

GPS (global positioning system)

AAA maps

The "waggle dance" and circle dance--do-si-do

A compass

The waggle dance tells the watching bees two things about a flower patch’s location: the distance and the direction away from the hive. Let’s take a closer look at how this works. The dancing bee waggles back and forth as she moves forward in a straight line, then circles around to repeat the dance. The length of the middle line, called the waggle run, shows roughly how far it is to the flower patch. The circle dance tells the watching bees only one thing about the flower patch’s location: that it is somewhere close to the hive. In this dance, the bee walks in a circle, turns around, then walks the same circle in the opposite direction. The duration of this waggle is thought to indicate the quality of the flower patch she has found.

Explanation

The waggle dance tells the watching bees two things about a flower patch’s location: the distance and the direction away from the hive. Let’s take a closer look at how this works. The dancing bee waggles back and forth as she moves forward in a straight line, then circles around to repeat the dance. The length of the middle line, called the waggle run, shows roughly how far it is to the flower patch. The circle dance tells the watching bees only one thing about the flower patch’s location: that it is somewhere close to the hive. In this dance, the bee walks in a circle, turns around, then walks the same circle in the opposite direction. The duration of this waggle is thought to indicate the quality of the flower patch she has found.

8. The EIC has maintained honeybee hives on campus for over 25 years, pictured here. How long have humans been keeping bees to produce food and drink, like honey and to fertilize flowers that produce fruits, vegetables, and nuts?

Since medieval times, to make mead from honey to drink instead of unclean water

July 4, 1776

The 1970s, when organic foods grew in popularity

As early as 2500 B.C.E

Domesticated beekeeping was a common practice throughout the ancient world, starting at least as early as 2500 B.C.E. in Egypt and likely even earlier in China. Depictions of beehives and honeypots, and beekeepers using smoke to calm bees, were found on the walls of the Sun Temple of the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini, and intact clay and straw hives from 900 B.C.E. were discovered in archaeological sites in Israel.

Explanation

Domesticated beekeeping was a common practice throughout the ancient world, starting at least as early as 2500 B.C.E. in Egypt and likely even earlier in China. Depictions of beehives and honeypots, and beekeepers using smoke to calm bees, were found on the walls of the Sun Temple of the Egyptian pharaoh Nyuserre Ini, and intact clay and straw hives from 900 B.C.E. were discovered in archaeological sites in Israel.