Several years ago, so many bees, flies, wasps and other pollinating insects would be buzzing around blooming flowers in our gardens, orchards, woodlands and fields that we took the creatures for granted.
It was hard to imagine the situation that exists now — a nationwide alarm over the decline of the insects, which are vital for pollinating billions of dollars worth of food crops every year.
Pollinators transfer pollen from male to female flower parts, a necessary step for plant fertilization that produces seeds, fruits, nuts and vegetables. Most plants depend on pollinators to spread their pollen.
That includes some 100 crops in the United States — including apples and blueberries — worth $30 billion annually. The value in Georgia is some $500 million, according to a University of Georgia study.
Pollinator populations, however, are in serious decline — especially bees. Native bumblebees, for instance, pollinate countless wildflowers, garden flowers and crops, but their numbers are plummeting. The rusty-patched bumblebee, which occurs in Georgia’s mountains, and the Franklin’s bumblebee have declined to the point that they are now on the federal Endangered Species List. Another species, the American bumblebee, is being considered for listing.
Possible reasons for the declines are habitat loss, disease, parasites, pesticide misuse and climate change.
These are sobering thoughts as thousands of folks across Georgia and the Carolinas get ready to conduct next weekend’s (Aug. 18-19) Great Southeast Pollinator Census. The results may help scientists determine, among other things, ways to reverse pollinator declines.
To participate, choose a flowering plant visited by pollinators and count all the bees, flies and other insects that you see there in a 15-minute period. Report your results at the website gsepc.org.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: One of the year’s best meteor showers, the Perseid, will peak at about 50 meteors per hour after dark this weekend in the northeastern sky. It will be visible through Tuesday night. The moon will be new on Wednesday. Mercury is low in the west around dusk. Mars is very low in the west at dark and will appear near the moon on Friday night (Aug. 18). Jupiter rises in the east at about midnight. Saturn rises in the east at sunset and sets at about sunrise.
Charles Seabrook can be reached at charles.seabrook@yahoo.com.
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