Following pollinators in the global news with the latest news stories, facts and information!
Wasps are voracious predators of pest insects, produce powerful antibiotics in their venom, pollinate plants and even make a nutritious snack.
The benefits to humans of the much-hated insects are revealed in the first major scientific review of the ecosystem services they provide. It focused on the 33,000 known species of hunting wasps, which carry stings and live in every corner of the world.
Yellowjackets and hornets, the picnic pests that have given wasps a bad name, make up a small proportion of all wasp species. But even they provide help that is little known, such as hoovering up caterpillars on vegetable patches. Yellowjacket venom is also being investigated as a promising cancer treatment.
Pollinator Protection News,
Updates & Information
Right now we are working on our third Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Garden in beautiful Bluebird Park, Laguna Beach, CA. This is thanks to our partnerships with the Monarch Joint Venture, the US Forest Services International Programs and the Laguna Beach Garden Club.
We are creating exciting and vibrant Western Monarch butterfly and pollinator gardens in Laguna Beaches Parks. Locations include Heisler Park, Bluebird Park in two locations and others TBA.
We plant native California flowers and shrubs to support Monarch butterflies, native Bees and other pollinators.
Educational signage in both English and Spanish can be found at our garden locations.
We are very lucky to have a Monarch Butterfly overwintering site at San Clemente State Park in California. This state park is in dire need of habitat to support the overwintering monarch butterflies who spend the winter here in a grouping of Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees. During the winter when monarch butterflies are conserving their energy and in reproductive diapause (they cease to mate and lay eggs) - they seek to conserve their energy and will only fly up to an acre to find food. We are actively seeking funding for habitat creation at this state park to help the dwindling overwintering monarch population. This state park is listed as one of the top 50 overwintering sites in California. (Source: Xerces, State of The Monarch Overwintering Sites in California.)
Please email us at : pollinatorprotectionfund@gmail.com or use the contact form on this website.
Wasps
Bumblebees
Bumblebees play a key role in pollinating crops such as tomatoes, squash and berries.
Bumblebees are in drastic decline across Europe and North America owing to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, scientists leading a study at Ottawa university say.
Their study suggests the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined by 30% in the course of a single human generation.
Peter Soroye, a PhD student at the University of Ottawa and the study’s lead author, said: “We found that populations were disappearing in areas where the temperatures had gotten hotter. If declines continue at this pace, many of these species could vanish forever within a few decades.”
The team used data collected over a 115-year period on 66 bumblebee species across North America and Europe to develop a model simulating “climate chaos” scenarios. They were able to see how bumblebee populations had changed over the years by comparing where the insects were now to where they used to be.
Prof Jeremy Kerr, of the University of Ottawa and the study’s senior author, said: “This work also holds out hope by implying ways that we might take the sting out of climate change for these and other organisms by maintaining habitats that offer shelter, like trees, shrubs or slopes, that could let bumblebees get out of the heat.
“Ultimately, we must address climate change itself and every action we take to reduce emissions will help.”
Source: The Guardian Newspaper UK
Insects In Global Decline: