Images by Cheri

Let’s talk about birds as pollinators…When pollination is carried out by birds, it is called “Ornithophily.” No idea how to pronounce that!
The most common pollinator bird is the hummingbird, especially here in the Continental US. Hawaii has the honeycreeper and Australia the honeyeater. Certain parrots and sunbirds in the tropics are also pollinators. But there is another kind of bird here in the Southern part of the US that I was totally surprised to discover is also a pollinator. Stay tuned to see which very common bird it is, I bet you’ll be surprised too!

Featured here is the buff-bellied hummingbird captured in Mission, Texas last fall.

The bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus Bombus, part of Apidae, one of the bee families.

Like their relatives the honeybees, bumblebees feed on nectar, using their long hairy tongues to lap up the liquid. The bumblebee is also on the decline due to habitat loss and pesticides. Stay tuned for tips to help support our bee population!

Featured here is the Digger bee enjoying the (wildly invasive) nightshade bloom.

Female Anthophora practice buzz pollination — that is, they vibrate their wing muscles, shaking pollen from the anthers of flowers. These bees are exceptionally effective pollinators and play an important role in maintaining wildflower diversity, in part because their long tongues allow them to pollinate deep-throated and tubular blossoms inaccessible to many bees.

Source: Sharp, Paula and Ross Eatman. “Anthophora.” Wild Bees of the National Butterfly Center of Mission, Texas. 15 Jan. 2019, http://www.wildbeestexas.com/

Today I’m featuring bees! The western honey bee is the most common species of honeybee and is found on every continent except Antarctica.

You can start helping pollinators by planting native species, avoiding pesticides, and providing sources of clean water—all necessities for all pollinators wherever you are.

The Pollinator of the Year is the Swallowtail Butterfly. Featured here is the Black Swallowtail. Stay tuned for her caterpillar look! 🐛

The Pollinator of the Year is the Swallowtail Butterfly. Featured here is the beautiful Pipevine Swallowtail. Today, I’ll be posting photos and videos of different swallowtails and tips for supporting our butterflies in my posts and stories.

Did you know that more than 22 percent of our native pollinators here in North America are at risk of extinction, with bees, butterflies, and bats topping the list?

Learn more at: www.extension.unh.edu

The Pollinator of the Year is the Swallowtail Butterfly. There are some thirty species of the Swallowtail here in the U.S. and nearly 600 species around the world. Featured here is the Giant Swallowtail, the largest butterfly species in North America. Check my stories and future posts this week to learn more about what we can do to protect our pollinators!

More information can be found at extension.unh.edu