Pollinators

THE BIRDS AND THE BEESMy back yard

BIGGEST AND BIGHTESS Rufous hummingbird Arrive mid march lower mainland Gone early august Over winter California, Baja Mexico ,one hatch usually two chicks per clutch, nest is the size of a golf ball any flower that will give Nectar including the every giving feeder Never use red colouring this is deadly

4 to 1 summer mix 3 to 1 winter mix

A true snow bird

Which brings us too

Anna's humming bird Never leaves here year

round Population stable mainly

due to feeders You will know you have

a ,male near be due to high pitched note from his tail feather during a courting dive

Can have as many as four clutches though the year

Survives the winter night by lower the thermostat placing the bird in a torpor to morning

Two feeder all winter long as one freezes its replaced

Of the same size sphinx or hawk moth both pollinate flowers and

sip nectar, and both can fly forwards, backwards and hover in place.

The honeysuckle vine, hawthorns, and shrubs in the viburnum family are preferred plants, so provide these host plants for the caterpillars if you want to see the adults..

Rather than spinning a cocoon to go through metamorphosis, they dig into the soil and blend in with the fallen leaves

Some pupae spend the winter there, transforming into flying adults the following spring.

Most sphinx moths are out at night to feed,

Staying with big

Two-tailed Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly

Big, bright, loves buddleia Butterflies emerge from

winter chrysalides between February and May, the date depending on the temperature

rarely seen at rest always on the move

The adult females lay up to a hundred eggs in total.

The eggs are deep green, shiny and spherical. They are laid singly, on the undersides of leaves

Green Grass-Dart Skipper ButterflyThis little guy I never

see any more Herbicides and pesticide

have taken there toll Adults feed on nectar or

are scavengers on decaying matter and wet mud. Larvae feed on a variety of plants. Unlike most butterflies, skippers pupate in a cocoon made of leaves attached together with silk. The adults have a rapid and powerful flight.

Humble bumble bee

over 250 known species pollen grains are wedged

into the hairs for transport).

Like their relatives the honey bees, bumblebees feed on nectar and gather pollen to feed their young.

Another obvious (but not unique) characteristic is the soft nature of the hair , called pile, that covers their entire body, making them appear and feel fuzzy

While foraging, bumblebees can reach ground speeds of up to 15 metres per second (54 km/h)

The drone-fly,

I picked a fly as probably among the first pollinators of early flowering plants.

Diptera have been documented to be primary pollinators for many plant species, both wild and cultivated. 

under conditions of reduced bee activity, flies are often the main pollinators

Pollinators have a keystone function in ecosystems. Without pollination many wild plants could not reproduce and survive. Animals, too, are indirectly dependent on pollination services, as they feed on fruit or plants that would not exist without pollinators.

Mason bee

Who has mason bees Last year my wife opened

the refrigerator to discover the Mason bees were starting to hatch…this year we were determined to hang the nests before that .

Friendly Blue Mason Bees are Perfect Pollinators

While the mason bee will pollinate nearly anything, they are especially attracted to the stone fruits such as plums, cherries, and peaches. It would seem that they specialize in these plants, but like apple tree blossoms

The boss

An average sized colony in the summer will contain over 35,000-40,000 bees and in the winter about 5000 bees

Honey Bees are generally considered the highest form of insect life with the most sophisticated colonies and complex behaviors, even among other bee types.

But there are in trouble colonies are collapsing everywhere the varroa mite is devastating population across Canada and states

Untreated the mites will wipe out a colony in a year

Two million flowers must be tapped to make just one pound of honey (no wonder they need to be so efficient)

The biggest treat to all you have seen tonight

Pesticides

Bayer has got a big headache Right now, billions of bees are dying. Already, there are

nowhere near enough honeybees in Europe to pollinate the crops, and in California -- the biggest food producer in the US -- beekeepers are losing 40% of their bees each year.

We're in the middle of an environmental holocaust that threatens all of us, because without pollination by bees, most plants and ⅓ of our food supply are gone.

Scientists are sounding the alarm about pesticides that are toxic to bees, and say we’re using way, way more pesticides on our crops than we need. But as with oil companies and climate change, big drug companies that sell pesticides are fighting back with corporate-funded junk science that questions the evidence, and gives politicians an excuse to delay

Neonicotinoid

Thank you