Why and How?
The idea for this database has been simmering for several years. While I have been a keeper of honeybees, and kept them primarily as a contractor for crop pollination, rather than for honey production, I also saw the role of wild pollinators to pollinate small plots, and to augment pollination in larger fields and orchards. Likewise, there are many wild plants that serve as valuable feed for birds and wildlife that depend entirely on wild pollinators, either because honeybees are not present, or are not adapted to the flower, or that they tend to ignore them. So I have broadened my personal scope, and am trying to learn all I can about any agent that accomplishes pollination.
There already are databases of plants and pollinators, and I don't want to duplicate work already done. One good one online is Dr. Jim Cane's Plants Attractive to Native Bees. My hope is to augment this kind of list with high quality photos that can be accessed by anyone with a computer. Lists of taxonomic names "don't mean diddly-squat" for the layman, but photos can be a real help. Photos also provide a record of the beauty we can see, even in common weeds, if we pause to look.
Though I have organized my data differently, I must acknowledge that a major inspiration for me to tackle this has come from the awesome pollinator photos by Dr.Heinz Schneider at his Botanical Image Database.
Help Appreciated!
I have some photographic skills and a lot of patience. My main stumbling
block is identification, and I appreciate all the help I can get. As I've been going
through the growing season, I have focused on the photography, because opportunities
missed will require a year's wait, whereas identification can proceed, if necessary during
the winter.
Primary Regional Concentration
The focus, at the first, is going to be on areas where I have frequent access
for photography, which is Eastern USA, and Southern Ontario, Canada. This alone is a huge
field. The plants that get first attention will be, of course, those that obviously are
interesting to pollinators, whether wildflower, garden or landscape flower, or farm crop.
Live Shots Preferred
I want, as much as possible to get live shots in natural settings. Some
photographers stage shots, by refrigerating insects, or just simply shoot dead and mounted
ones. I hope to avoid this. I have not been able to make them look natural after
refrigeration, and I have a natural abhorrence to killing our friends. If there is
no other way to get pictures of some species, I may at some future date, decide the
sacrifice of a few individuals may be necessary.
I recognize that there is some inherent bias, because some pollinators are much easier to photograph than others, and some flowers hide the pollinators while they are working. So there will be, at least in the beginning, fewer photos of megachilid bees, and some lepidopterans, which tend to move fast and spook easily. I will mention these as much as I can, even if I cannot provide photos until a later date.
Will others have an opportunity to contribute? Yes, I welcome help from others (with full credit) who would like to advance the purpose of this list.
Native/Non_Native?
One cannot do a project of this nature without being embroiled with the
controversy surrounding native/non-native plants and pollinators. My policy is
pretty much to "take it as it comes." There is something arrogant and
inconsistent about an immigrant human who labels immigrant honeybees as exotic or
invasive. They are here; they are a vital part of our food crop pollination; and one is
living in an ivory tower, if one thinks they will be removed from the scene.
Likewise with non-native plants. They are not inherently bad; many imported plants have become important foods for us, for wildlife, and for our pollinators. Many also add beauty to our lives. There are a few that are disliked because they are invasive, or may crowd out native plants, or decrease biodiversity. I discourage people from spreading invasive plants, but they are here, and I will not omit them from the database simply because they are invasive. Many invasive plants provide excellent forage for pollinators. There's a kudzu patch on the vacant property adjacent to my workshop. We keep the side of the property mowed, because the kudzu seems determined to move our way. Yet the patch is simply humming with a variety of pollinating or otherwise beneficial insects. The most invasive species I have ever seen is the imported fire ant. I despise them, but I doubt that they have done as much damage to our environment as misused pesticides.
Each Species Has a Role
One thing is impressed on me, the more I look at flowers, is that there are
plant pollinator associations. While they may vary from place to place, it is plain that
pollinators, though they may overlap, are not precisely interchangeable. They have their
preferences. My classic illustration is the garden with bumblebees on the butter beans,
honeybees on the cukes and melons, and squash bees on the squash and pumpkins. If there
are no honeybees, the bumblebees can move over to the melons and squash as well,
especially if they are plentiful enough to compete, but they'd rather stay on the beans.
More often, there are no squash bees, and the honeybees are the primary pollinators for
squash. Nothing is final here, just preferences. I've been told that honeybees will
not work red clover, azaleas, or other deep throated flowers, yet occasionally I see them
"violate" the rules. Generally honeybees and bumblebees mind their own business.
Some of the solitary bees are quite aggressive, and will "dive bomb" bees that
are much larger to chase them off the flowers.
The point is that we need all the pollinators we can get. A gardener may see a bee or two, and conclude that pollination is just fine, not realizing that 15 or 20 visits may be needed to make a quality fruit, and pollinator populations are too low to do the job. Or one crop may have good pollination while another does not, and the gardener cannot come to a correct conclusion, because he or she does not realize that different pollinators are needed for the different crops.
As feral honeybees have declined, another pollinator has "stepped up to the plate." She definitely needs more support and protection from the leaders of the bee community. If you do a search for carpenter bees with any of the Internet search engines, 98% of the information you find is on extermination. Very few mention that these are important pollinators. And she is blamed for far more damage than she could possibly do.
I expect this to be a highly educational endeavor for myself and for those who peruse this list. It will be a lot of hard work (actually already has), but most of all, I expect it to be fun.
One more thing, for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear. I see and enjoy incredible beauty in the flowers and the pollination process. If what we behold is simply an accident, there would be no reason for beauty. The beauty points to the Master Designer, who is the source of all beauty.
Dave Green, AKA "Pollinator" September 7, 2001