September 16, 2024

The Pollinator Puzzle: Who They Are and How to Help

26 minutes

Pollinators are the unsung heroes of Florida’s ecosystems,

supporting the reproduction of our flowering plants in urban, suburban and natural areas. Pollinator populations are declining, and organizations are urging people to take action to support pollinators in their areas of influence. There is a lot of buzz around the topics of pollinators these days, but who are they? What are they doing? Where do they go? Find out this and more in today’s episode.

Learn More:

Insect Pollinators - https://www.fnps.org/plants/pollinators

Know your native pollinators - https://www.flawildflowers.org/pollinators/

Pollinator Plants: Florida - https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/17-046_03_XercesSoc_Pollinator-Plants_Florida_web-3page.pdf

Creating a Native Wildflower Garden in Your Central Florida Yard - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creating-a-native-wildflower-garden-in-your-central/id1724213516?i=1000648747914

How You Can Help:

Support pollinators in your yard by

spreading wildflower seeds and planting a variety of native plants - https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/media/sfylifasufledu/osceola/documents/agriculture/Pollinator-Plants-for-Osceola-County-Urban-Landscapes.pdf

Consider leaving a patch of bare,

open ground or install a bee house/hotel for nesting - https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/how-to-manage-a-successful-bee-hotel/what-is-a-bee-hotel

Create a no-mow area in your yard and

leave area unmown November-May - https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/2022/07/26/no-mow-lawns-in-florida/

Use pesticides as a last resort,

learn integrated pest management - https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/care/pests-and-diseases/pests/management/integrated-pest-management/

Sources for this Episode:

Attracting Bees and Other Beneficial

Insects with Florida’s Native Wildflowers -https://www.flawildflowers.org/attracting-bees/

The Importance of Pollinators - https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/pollinators

Pollinator Syndromes - https://www.pollinator.org/pollinator.org/assets/generalFiles/Pollinator_Syndromes.pdf

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By Shannon Carnevale and Lara Milligan

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