Pollination Station

Lots of news about pollinators.

First, the bad news...
Long-term population trends for some North American pollinators -- bees, birds, bats, and other animals and insects that spread pollen so plant fertilization can occur -- are "demonstrably downward," says a new report from the National Research Council. However, there is little or no population data for many pollinators, which prompted the committee that wrote the report to call for stepped-up efforts to monitor these creatures and improve understanding of their basic ecology. Read more

Now, the good news...
U.S. Postal Service announced the creation of Pollination stamps which will be released next summer to coincide with National Pollinator Week (June 24-30). The stamps consist of four images arranged in two alternate and interlocking patterns. The intricate design of these beautiful stamps emphasizes the ecological relationship between pollinators and plants and suggests the biodiversity necessary to ensure the viability of that relationship.

Depicted on the Pollination stamps are four wildflowers and four pollinators. Two Morrison’s bumble bees are paired with purple or chaparral nightshade (one of the bees is actively engaged in buzz pollination). A calliope hummingbird sips from a hummingbird trumpet blossom. A lesser long-nosed bat prepares to “dive” into a saguaro flower. And a Southern dogface butterfly visits prairie or common ironweed.

And some interesting news...

Researchers Find that Flower Choice Matters

Rebecca Flanagan has probably come as close as a human can to reading the mind of a bumblebee.

Flanagan is studying the behaviors of bees as they gather pollen -- which plant species the bees forage on, which flowers they probe
and in what order, and how many blooms they visit before moving on to another plant.

But why go to such lengths to map the flight of the bumblebee? The bees are pivotal players in determining which plant populations survive through successful reproduction. If scientists could better understand nature’s decision-making process, then they could use the information to increase crop yields and to boost conservation of native plant communities.


For more information on pollinators: www.pollinator.org.