Deborah Prescott | Daily Press A honey bee pollinates a tomato bloom at the community gardens in Escanaba recently. Pollinators like bees play an important role in food production.

ESCANABA — Pollinators are very important to our way of life. Without them, our menus would surely change. Pollination happens when pollen is moved from flower to flower by birds, bees, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, the wind or other animals. The transfer of pollen between the same species fertilizes the bloom and fruit, and viable seeds are made.

The Upper Peninsula is no exception.

“They (pollinators) are extremely important as they are needed for the development of many fruits and vegetables that we eat,” said MSU Extension U.P. Master Gardener Program Coordinator and Consumer Horticulture Educator Rebecca Krans. “Without native pollinators many wildlife species wouldn’t get fruit or berries they may rely on and ornamental trees and shrubs would not produce fruit.”

Bees are at the top of the list when discussing pollinators. They pollinate 70 of the 100 crops that feed 90 percent of the world. If bees were to disappear, we would lose those plants and the animals that eat those plants, and so on. Half of all varieties of fruits and vegetables would no longer be in our grocery stores.

“All pollinators are very important and essential to our food supply and life. In Michigan alone, there are over 450 native bee species that help in pollinating. In the U.S. there are over 2,000,” said Krans. “They all need our help. As their habitats decrease and additional stresses are placed on them, their populations decrease.”

Bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. Many things contribute to the disappearances — loss of flower meadows, climate change, pesticides and the varroa mite, a red-brown crab-like mite that feasts on bee blood in the honey bee colony. The mite is also called the Varroa destructor, the world’s most devastating pest of Western honey bees.

Varroa mites are found worldwide. The few areas that do not have signs of the mite have strict quarantine procedures in place. The mite hides in the folds of bees, keeping them from being knocked off during the bees’ normal cleaning habits. Their eggs are white in color and hard to spot with an untrained eye.

Pollinators are suffering from loss of habitat, chemical misuses by humans, disease, parasites and introduced invasive plant and animal species. In the last 10 years, the U.S. has lost over 50 percent of managed honey bee colonies. The European Union has invested $20 million dollars investigating the status of pollinators in Europe.

There are ways to help. Promote and protect pollinators by cultivating native plants. Install houses for bats and native bees. Supply salt or mineral licks for butterflies and water for all wildlife. Reduce pesticide use. Substitute flower beds for lawns. Watch for pollinators, join local groups, volunteer to help with pollinator friendly groups and garden groups, experience time outdoors and vote for issues that are of concern.

“All require a water source and a wide variety of flowering plants that are not sterile, that is they have their pollen and other reproductive parts, are needed from early spring through late fall,” said Krans. “All people can provide these on their property or by their homes.”

Reduce your impact, or “footprint,” on nature, by reducing, recycling or reusing. Buy locally produced, or organic, food. Walk, cycle, carpool, or telecommute to work.

The eastern population of monarch butterflies has dropped 80 percent over the last 20 years due to habitat loss. By improving habitats, the population will come back. Milkweed is very important to monarch butterflies. At each stage of their lives they live off milkweed. They lay their eggs on milkweed because that is the only thing the caterpillar will eat.

“Anyone can help by providing them with the food, shelter, and the nesting site environments they may require. Each species may have different requirements, for example, ground nesters need some open ground versus cavity nesters need hollow stems,” said Krans.

Saturday, July 20, from 8 a.m. to noon MSU Extension will hold a free hands-on workshop in the Delta County Conference Room at 2840 College Ave., in Escanaba. The workshop will teach how to garden to help pollinators. Extension Master Gardeners are highly encouraged to participate.

“Please check out more pollinator resources at our Gardening in Michigan website at www.migarden.msu.edu,” noted Krans.