NATURAL
NATIVE
POLLINATORS




Third week
in June
is National
Pollinator Week





POLLINATORS

BAT

BEEKEEPING

BEE

BUMBLEBEE

ORCHARD BEE

MASON BEE

WASP

YELLOWJACKETS

HORNETS

BUTTERFLY

MOTH

HUMMINGBIRDS



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SECTION 1



POLLINATORS




POLLINATORS:

Though the terms are sometimes confused,
a pollinator is different from a pollenizer,
which is a plant that is a source of pollen
for the pollination process.

The most recognized pollinators are the
various species of bees, which are plainly
adapted to pollination.

Many other insects accomplish some pollination.
Wasps, bombyliid flies and syrphid flies are just
a few important pollinators.

Bats are important pollinators of some tropical
flowers. Birds, particularly hummingbirds also
accomplish much pollination, especially of deep
throated flowers.



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SECTION 2



BATS




BATS:

Bats are mammals in the order Chiroptera.
Their most distinguishing feature is that
their forelimbs are developed as wings,
making them the only mammal capable of
flight.

There are estimated to be about 1,100
species of bats worldwide: about 20%
of all mammal species.

About 70 percent of bats are
insectivorous. Most of the
remainder feed on fruits and
their juices; three bat
species eat blood and some
prey on vertebrates.

These bats include:
leaf-nosed bats (Phyllostomidae)
of central America and South America,
and the related bulldog bats
(Noctilionidae) that feed on fish.

There are two known species of bat
that feed on other bats: the Spectral
Bat or American False Vampire bat and
the Ghost Bat of Australia.

Some of the smaller bat species are
important pollinators of some tropical
flowers. Indeed, many tropical plants
are now found to be totally dependent
on them, not just for pollination, but
for spreading their seeds by eating the
resulting fruits.

This role explains environmental concerns
when a bat is introduced in a new setting.
Tenerife provides a recent example with
the introduction of the Egyptian bat.




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SECTION 3



BEEKEEPING




BEEKEEPING:

Beekeeping is the practice of
intentional maintenance of
honeybee hives by humans.

A beekeeper may keep bees in
order to collect honey and
beeswax, or for the purpose
of pollinating crops, or to
produce bees for sale to
other beekeepers.

APIARY:
A location where bees are
kept is called an apiary.



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SECTION 4



BEES




BEES:

Bees: a lineage within the superfamily
Apoidea, are flying insects, closely
related to wasps and ants.
There are approximately 20,000 species
of bees, and they may be found on every
continent except Antarctica.

Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar
and pollen, the former primarily as an
energy source, and the latter primarily
for protein and other nutrients. Most
pollen is used for food for the brood.

Bees play an important role in pollinating
flowering plants, and are the major type
of pollinators in ecosystems that contain
flowering plants. Bees may focus on
gathering nectar or on gathering pollen,
depending on their greater need at the time.

Bees gathering nectar may accomplish
pollination, but bees that are deliberately
gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators.
It is estimated that one third of the human
food supply depends on insect pollination, most
of this accomplished by bees.




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SECTION 5



BUMBLEBEE

BUMBLE BEE




The agricultural use of bumblebees
is limited to pollination.

The bumblebee, bumble bee, is a flying
insect of the genus Bombus in the family
Apidae.

Like the common honeybee, of which it is
a relative, the bumblebee feeds on nectar
and gathers pollen to feed its young.

These creatures are beneficial to humans
and the plant world alike, and tend to be
larger than other members of the bee family.
Most, but not all, bumblebee species are gentle.


Bumblebees are typically found in the higher
latitudes that range from warm to cold climates
where other bees might not be found.

Bumblebees form colonies, much like honeybees.
However, their hives are usually much less
extensive than those of honeybees, because of
the small size of the nest.
Often, bumblebee nests will hold fewer than 50
individuals, and may be within tunnels in the
ground made by other animals.

Bumblebees are actually quite beneficial to human
beings because they can pollinate plant species
that other pollinators cannot by using a technique
known as buzz pollination.




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SECTION 6



ORCHARD
BEE




The orchard mason bee,
Osmia lignaria,
is a megachilid bee that makes
nests in reeds and natural holes,
creating individual cells for
their brood that are separated
by mud dividers.

They are unlike carpenter bees
in that they cannot drill holes
in wood.

A number of species of Osmia are
cultured for use in pollination.
Osmia lignaria is a common species
used for early spring fruit bloom
in Japan and the United States.




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SECTION 7




MASON
BEE




Mason bee is a general term for
certain species of bees in the
family Megachilidae, primarily
the genus Osmia, such as:

orchard mason bee
(Osmia lignaria),

blueberry bee
(Osmia ribifloris),

hornfaced bee
(Osmia cornifrons).

They are named from their habit
of making compartments of mud in
their nests, which are made in
hollow reeds or holes in wood
made by wood boring insects.

The former two are native to the
Americas and the latter to Japan
although lignaria and cornifrons
have been moved from their native
ranges for commercial purposes.

Mason bees are increasingly
cultivated to to improve
pollination for early spring
fruit flowers.

Unlike honeybees, they are solitary;
every female is fertile and makes
her own nest, and there are no worker
bees for these species. Solitary bees
produce neither honey nor beeswax.
They are immune from acarine and
varroa mites, but have their own
unique parasites, pests and diseases.

Most mason bees live in holes and can
be attracted by drilling short holes
in a block of wood. They are excellent
spring season pollinators and, since
they have no honey to defend, will
only sting if squeezed or stepped on.
As such, they make excellent garden
"pets", since they both pollinate the
plants and are safe for children and
pets.




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SECTION 8



WASP




A wasp is any insect of the order
Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita
that is not a bee, sawfly, or an
ant.

Less familiar, the suborder Symphyta
includes the sawflies and wood wasps,
which differ from the Apocrita by
having a broad connection between the
thorax and abdomen.

Also, Symphyta larvae are mostly
herbivorous and "caterpillarlike",
whereas those of Apocrita are
largely predatory or parasitic.

Most familiar wasps belong to the
Aculeata, a division of the Apocrita,
whose ovipositors are modified into
a venomous stinger.

Aculeata also contains ants and bees.
In this sense, the species called
"velvet ants"
(Mutillidae) are actually wasps.




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SECTION 9



YELLOWJACKETS




Yellowjackets are black-and-yellow
wasps of the genus Vespula or the
Dolichovespula (though some can be
black-and-white, the most notable
of these being the bald-faced
hornet, Dolichovespula maculata).

They can be identified by their
distinctive combination of the
black-and-yellow color, small
size (slightly larger than a bee),
and entirely black antennae.

In some parts of the United States,
they are called meat bees.

Like some other vespids, they live
in colonies and build globular paper
nests. Workers are around 12-20 mm
in length, depending on species, and
feed on nectar, while collecting other
foods (primarily arthropods) for their
larvae.

They can sting repeatedly and without
apparent provocation (especially so in
response to nest disturbance), and so
can be major pests.

In autumn, they switch from collecting
arthropods and nectar to scavenging other
food sources, which can increase their
contact with people.




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SECTION 10



HORNETS




Hornets are large eusocial wasps.
The true hornets make up the genus
Vespa, and are distinguished from
other vespines by the width of the
vertex (part of the head behind the
eyes), which is proportionally
larger in Vespa; and by the
anteriorly rounded gasters (the
section of the abdomen behind the
wasp waist).




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SECTION 11



BUTTERFLY




A butterfly is an insect of the Order
Lepidoptera, and belongs to one of the
superfamilies Hesperioidea (the skippers)
or Papilionoidea (all other butterflies).

Some authors would include
also members of:
superfamily Hedyloidea,
the American butterfly moths.

People who study or collect butterflies
(or the closely related moths) are called
lepidopterists.

Butterfly watching is growing in
popularity as a hobby.

Another old term for a
lepidopterist is aurelian.

Butterfly families

The five families of true
butterflies usually recognised
n the Papilionoidea are:

1. Family Papilionidae,
the Swallowtails and Birdwings.

2. amily Pieridae,
the Whites and Yellows.

3. Family Lycaenidae,
the Blues and Coppers,
also called the
Gossamer-Winged Butterflies,

4. Family Riodinidae,
the Metalmark butterflies,

5. Family Nymphalidae,
the Brush-footed butterflies,




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SECTION 12



MOTH




A moth is an insect closely related
to the butterfly. Both are of the
order Lepidoptera.

The division of Lepidopterans into
moths and butterflies is a popular
taxonomy, not a scientific one.
Sometimes the names "Rhopalocera"
(butterflies) and "Heterocera"
(moths) are used to formalise the
popular distinction.

Most species of moths are nocturnal,
but there are crepuscular and diurnal
species.

People who study butterflies and/or
moths are called lepidopterists; the
study of butterflies is known as
butterflying, and the study of moths
mothing, the latter giving rise to
the term mother.




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SECTION 13



HUMMINGBIRDS




Hummingbirds are small birds in the
family Trochilidae. They are known
for their ability to hover in mid-air
by rapidly flapping their wings, 15
to 80 times per second (depending on
the size of the bird).

Unlike other bird species capable of
limited hovering, the hummingbird is
alone in its ability to fly deliberately
backwards or vertically, and to maintain
position for drinking from flower blossoms.
They are named for the characteristic hum
made by their wings.

Hummingbirds are attracted to many
flowering plants—shrimp plants,
Heliconia,
bromeliads,
verbenas,
fuchsias,
many penstemons—especially
those with red flowers.

They feed on the nectar of these plants
and are important pollinators, especially
of deep-throated flowers.
Most species of hummingbird also take
insects, especially when feeding young.




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