1 / 16

Why Wildflowers

Why Wildflowers. Pollinators need food too!. 70% of what we eat needs to be pollinated 4000 native pollinators in North America And the Honeybee. As the honeybee goes So goes the others What’s harming the Honeybee?. Combination of Causes. 1. Varroa Destructor Mite 2. LOSS OF HABITAT

swendy
Download Presentation

Why Wildflowers

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Why Wildflowers

  2. Pollinators need food too! • 70% of what we eat needs to be pollinated • 4000 native pollinators in North America • And the Honeybee

  3. As the honeybee goes • So goes the others • What’s harming the Honeybee?

  4. Combination of Causes • 1. Varroa Destructor Mite • 2. LOSS OF HABITAT • 3. Mono Culture Growing • 4. Diversity of Bees • 5. Pesticides, Fungicides, Herbicides

  5. 2. Loss of Habitat • 98% of the Great Plains natural vegetation replaced by corn and soybeans • 40,000,000 acres of lawn in the U.S. • Let’s not count the cities and highways

  6. What do you do with your lawn? • Mow • Fertilize • Apply herbicides • Walk on it?

  7. About Lawns • 40,000,000 acres = 62,500 sq. miles • 9 Billions gallons/yr of irrigation water • 200 gallons/person/day lawn 320 gl/p/dy • 800,000,000 gal/year to mow • 5% urban air pollution • 10X more pesticides/acre than farms

  8. Do we need all of that lawn? • 40,000,000 acres = Georgia + 2 Rhode • Islands • Turn 20% into flowers, trees, bushes • 8,000,000 acres = Maryland

  9. SOWhy Wildflowers

  10. Research is finding loss of habitat is the #2 reason for the decline in all of the pollinators, including Monarch Butterflies, Bumble Bees, and Honey Bees.

  11. Wildflower Benefits • Wildflowers have always been a food source for the pollinators • Nectar provides carbohydrates • Pollen provides protein and amino acids • Plants provide shelter

  12. Study in Europe • Planting of a beneficial wildflower mix around wheat fields lowered cereal leaf beetles by 50%. • Increased yields by 2.5-10% • And NO pesticide use

  13. Where, when, what kind, how much • Plantings may by small or large • Plantings may be highly visible or out of the way • A mix of wildflowers provides food spring, summer, and fall • Plantings may include annuals and perennials • Plant along property lines or edges • Plant in waste or hard to grow areas

  14. Bee Friendly Wildflowers • Asters • Black eyed Susans • Dandelions • Lemon Balm • Purple Coneflower • Snap Dragons • Sunflowers • Yarrow • Zinnias

  15. What can you do? • Plant Wildflowers • Encourage others to plant wildflowers • Minimize Pesticides, Fungicides, Herbicides, and Synthetic Fertilizers • Urge your elected representatives to fund wildflower plantings • Support our efforts to improve our World

  16. Wildflower Sources • Roundstoneseed.com • Honey Bee Specialty Mix & Southern Pollinator Mix • Americanmeadows.com • Honey Bee Mix & Pollinator Mix • Naturesfinestseed.com • South-Atlantic Honey Bee Pasture Blend • Sainfoinseed.com • Sainfoin Grass Seed

More Related