Take a Bee to Lunch
National pollinator week was June 22 to 28. A symposium was held at the Smithsonian Institution 
featuring the NAPPC – the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, which represents more than one hundred agencies, government and non-government institutions, garden and grower groups, scientists, and other concerned citizens from Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
The goal is to encourage the health of resident and migratory pollinating animals in North America. This is important for people, too, in numerous ways, including for food, over 30% of which depends directly on pollinators. The NAPPC not only cares about insects like honeybees, but butterflies, bats, birds, flies, beetles and most of all – native species of these animals. We’ve all heard about problems with European honeybees, but several of our native bumblebees are also in trouble – mostly due to habitat loss.
Check out this week’s show. You’ll hear about things you can do for local pollinators right in your own garden, but you’ll also learn of a rather insidious plan to import European bumblebees for hothouse tomato production – a scary idea, if you ask me.
ABOVE: Native bumblebee and buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
ALSO: dividing tall bearded iris.
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