Following pollinators in the global news!
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.
Wasps
Flowers hear bees and make sweeter nectar when they’re buzzing nearby
Pollinators In Global Decline
As pollination slowly falls, risks rise to economic and human health
The world's biggest bee has been re-discovered, after decades thought lost to science.
Pollinator Protection News,
Updates & Information
We recently completed our ninth Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Garden at the Estancia Hotel and Spa La Jolla, which is open to the public. This Butterfly garden has a 'zen' theme while supporting myriad of native pollinators.
We also completed a set of three extensive native pollinator park gardens. We re-designed Newport Beach's Bluebird Park and turned it into a healthy habitat for pollinators.
Creating the gardens at Blue Heron Park required detailed planning, many tons of organic soil (22 cubic yards), intensive invasive plant removal and soil preparation. We planted many hundreds of native plants and installed a bright and uplifting, bespoke educational sign. Once the gardens were completed we had a butterfly garden open day for the entire community - which was also attended by other conservation organizations - and featured guest speakers and catering. A happy, fun and educational day was enjoyed by all!
We have also been caring for our sizable educational habitat gardens at Heisler Park in Laguna Beach and Bluebird Park in Laguna Beach, California.
We have new gardens to come on the horizon!
We are very thankful for our partnerships with the Monarch Joint Venture, the US Forest Services International Programs and the Laguna Beach Garden Club.
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.
For butterfly and pollinator garden enquiries and information, please email us at : pollinatorprotectionfund@gmail.com - or use the contact form on this website.