The Power of Pollinators

Sep 24

4 min read

Beyond Butterflies

Celebrating and supporting the unsung pollination heroes of Kitsap County

The efforts of our most prized pollinators, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, are well known. Who hasn’t gasped at the year’s first swallowtail sighting, or basked in the relentless buzz of bumblebees in early summer?

Photos by Jen Jacobsen

With pollinators contributing to the pollination of anywhere from one third to three quarters of our food, depending on how they’re counted, there’s no doubt these pollinators are critical, but they aren’t working alone. Let’s explore some of the lesser-known, and sometimes unexpected, pollinators and allies of Kitsap County - and how to support them.

Beetles, wasps, and flies—oh my! Long before bees ever evolved, beetles were among the first insect pollinators, helping shape the evolution of flowering plants. Today, they remain important pollinators, visiting a huge diversity of flowers. Considered “messy” pollinators, they often pollinate as a side effect of their dining and mating habits. As they munch and wander through flowers, pollen sticks to their bodies and gets carried to the next bloom. In Western Washington, Soldier Beetles, Tumbling Flower Beetles, and Soft-Winged Flower Beetles are among the standouts.

Wasps don't intentionally collect pollen, but as they visit flowers for nectar, they can carry pollen from bloom to bloom. They're also voracious hunters, helping keep garden pests like caterpillars and crickets in check. The Great Golden Digger Wasp is one of the fascinating wasp species you might encounter in a Kitsap garden.

Kitsap is home to some really cool flies, too. You may have spotted a black-and-yellow-striped Hoverfly or Bee Fly and thought you were seeing a particularly cute variety of bee. These flies can be important pollinators of many plants, including garden favorites like brassicas and legumes. And some fly larvae are beneficial predators, actively hunting pests such as aphids.

The night shift Pollination doesn't stop when the sun goes down. A three-year study on apple trees at the University of Arkansas found that nocturnal pollinators contributed significantly to pollination, while additional research at the University of Sussex found that moths can pollinate flowers faster than many day-flying insects.

And Kitsap has a lot of moths. More than 255 species have been verified in the County, part of the more than 1,200 moth species found throughout the Pacific Northwest. One-Eyed Sphinx and White-Lined Sphinx Moths, for example, visit pale, night-scented flowers after dark. Their caterpillars also provide food for birds, spiders, and other native wildlife.

Accidental allies

Not everything that interacts with a pollinator is a pollinator—and that's part of the story, too.

My young daughter cried the first time she saw a crab spider—not because she's afraid of spiders (she loves them), but because it had succeeded in its hunt for a honeybee. She's grown to love them, in part, because they can be a sign of a healthy pollinator ecosystem: one that supports predators as well as pollinators.

Birds and other wildlife play a similar role in the larger ecosystem. And even mosquitoes (dreaded by gardeners and humans everywhere) are part of the food web that supports birds, bats, and other insect-eating wildlife.

And speaking of bats: while bats in some parts of the world are important pollinators, our Washington bats are insectivores. They help control nighttime populations of moths, mosquitoes, beetles, and other insects, rather than serving as pollinators themselves.

How you can do your part to support this motley crew

All these pollination heroes can't thrive if Roundup and the Orkin pest control service are part of your yard maintenance routine. Beyond the obvious, like not actively spraying for pests, here are a few easy ways to make pollinators feel at home:

Consider native plants first: Our native pollinators and plants evolved alongside one another, and native plants can provide food and habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. With so many beautiful options, the right plants in the right place can have a big impact. Consider early bloomers like Osoberry and Flowering Red Currant, followed by later-season plants such as Ocean Spray to keep the garden buzzing through the growing season.
Leave the leaves (and sticks and seeds): It's tempting to clean everything up in the fall, but that “mess” provides food and shelter for countless beneficial insects and birds through the winter. Hold off on major cleanup until spring temperatures are consistently warm and overwintering insects have had a chance to emerge.
Turn off the lights at night: Nocturnal pollinators rely on natural darkness to navigate and find food. Artificial light can disorient them and disrupt their nighttime activities. Visit DarkSky.org to learn more.

A pollinator-friendly garden doesn't have to be perfect, or even particularly tidy. It just needs to be alive. The next time you see a fly pretending to be a bee, a moth fluttering through the garden at dusk, or a crab spider waiting patiently on a flower, take a second look. They're all part of the motley crew that makes a healthy garden possible.

By Jen Jacobsen Jen Jacobsen is an environmentalist, Master Gardener, Communications specialist and owner of Grounded, A Garden Coaching and Design service company based in Kingston.