Perfect Pollinators: Who are they and why they matter in Washington - - PDF document

Perfect Pollinators:

Who are they and why they matter in Washington County

Classroom Presentation Packet

This 12 slide set is designed for use with middle school class- rooms to share information about pollinator conservation here in Washington County. The slides provide an outline for a conversation with students about what pollinators need to survive and how the activities of human beings can help or harm them, using the Fender’s blue butterfmy, the Mason bee, and the Cinnabar moth as examples. These slides were provided along with Bee Lunch bookmarks, a CD-ROM of supporting documents, and classroom materials. If you would like a copy of this presentation for use in your classroom, please contact Chantel Hufg, Conservation Educator, Chantel.Hufg@tualatinswcd.org or 503-334-2288.

Presentation made by the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District

Vocabulary Words

Pollinators: Insects and animals that eat nectar and pollen,

• r come into contact with fmowers. Move pollen from one fmower

to another, allowing them to develop into fruits and seeds.

Invasive Species: A non-native specie that is introduced

to an ecosystem and threatens the current native species living within that area.

Pesticides: A substance used for destroying insects that also

cause harm to crops, plants, and animals.

Plant Biodiversity: A diversity of plants and species in a

given area that provide for insects, and animals.

Conservation: Preserving, protecting, and restorating

wildlife habitats, and the environment.

Pests: Insects that can cause damage to crops or gardens, or

are a hazard to human health.

Pollinator Hedgerow: A hedgerow is a line of bushes and

fmowering plants bordering a fjeld, road or other area that takes the place of a fence.

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Who Are the Pollinators?

Bees Birds Bats Butterfmies Moths Beetles

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Mason Bee Anna’s Hummingbird Western Longeared Myotis

ue Ceranemota rumbi

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Fender’s Blue Ceranemota Rumbi Paracotalpa Granicollis “Little Bears”

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What do People and Pollinators Both Need?

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Food Water Shelter Nursery

What Can Threaten Pollinator Habitats?

Invasive Species Development Pesticides Farms

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What is the Risk?

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Lower Food Production Less Wild Forage Fewer Insects Plant Biodiversity

Protecting the Fender’s Blue Butterfmy

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• The Fender’s Blue Butterfmy is only found in the upland prairies of the Willamette

Valley in western Oregon.

• The butterfmy was fjrst documented in 1929, and then was listed on the Endanged

Species list in 2000.

• Here in Washington County they were found near Hagg Lake in 2011. Its native

habitats are fjre dependent, and were historically burned by the Kalapuya people.

History of the Fender’s Blue Butterfmy

• End of controlled burns.
• Elimination of grassland habitat (1% of original).
• Fragmentation from urban development and agriculture.
• Invasive species.

Threats to Survival

Protecting the Fender’s Blue Butterfmy

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What has been done already?

• Lupine seedlings are being replanted.
• Non-native invsaive species are being controlled.
• Conservation groups are working to preserve habitats through prescribed burning.

Source: https:/ /instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/icb344/abstracts/fenders-blue.htm

How can we help the Fender’s Blue?

• Protect existing large grassland areas.
• Manage those areas to encourage the right kinds of plants, this includes controlled

burns to help fjre dependent plants out.

• Restore native plants, such as Kincaid’s Lupine.
• Learn more about the Fender’s Blue through research and studies, inlcuding citizen

science.

Fender’s Blue Butterfmy Life Cycle

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Life Cycle of the Fender’s Blue Butterfmy By: Selena Dugan-Fields

• May: Eggs are oviposited on leaves of Kincaid’s Lupine, once the larvae hatch,

they feed on the plant until it senesces.

• Early summer: Larvae reach their second instar, and the caterpillars move to

the base of the lupine and enter diapause (a state of developmental arrest).

• Winter: The caterpillars hibernate.
• March: The caterpillars awake, feeding on lupine while growing in size through

three to four instars before they enter their pupal stage.

• May: They emerge as adults, taking a total of one year to complete their

lifecycle.

Protecting Mason Bees

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Mason Bees are difgerent than Honey Bees

• Mason Bees do not live in a hive.
• Mason Bees do not store food from year to year.
• Mason Bees do not have sacs on their legs.
• Mason Bees are native to Oregon.

Why are Mason Bees good Pollinators?

• They have very hairy bodies that pollen sticks too.
• When they emerge from the nest, Mason bees are very hungry, and they eat a lot
• f pollen for its protein.
• When they are foraging for pollen, it sticks to their hairy bodies and falls ofg of

them easily into other fmowers.

• Mason bees are active early in the Spring when it is too cold for honey bees, and

this is when orchard trees have fmowers.

Protecting Mason Bees

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How do Mason Bees Survive without a Hive?

• Each generation of Mason Bees only live for a year.
• When they emerge from hybernation then start mating.
• To make their nests, the bees seal the back of the nesting tube with a mud plug.

They then gather enough pollen and nectar to place in the compartment for the

• egg. They then plug the other end with mud to protect the egg for the winter.
• The tube holds from 7-11 eggs, with each female laying about 35 eggs in multiple

nests before she dies. The female eggs are laid toward the back, and the male eggs at the front.

• The last chamber is usually left empty to protect against predators.

What do Mason Bees need?

• Woody debris to nest in: dead logs, brush piles, Mason Bee blocks or trays.
• A fresh water supply nearby.
• A wide variety of fmowers that bloom throughout the year.

Mason Bee Life Cycle

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• March or April: The males emerge fjrst and begin sunning themselves waiting for

the females. Several consecutive warm days are needed before this occurs. Once the females emerge, feeding and mating take place.

• Late spring, early summer: The female bees fjnd a suitable place to lay their

eggs, either the nest where they emerged or other small holes.

• Fall: The female bees that laid eggs that year die, and the nests hibernate over
• winter. Inside the nesting chamber, the egg hatches and the larvae feeds on the

food available.

• Once all of the food supplied is consumed, the larvae will then pupate and stay in

this form, hibernating until spring when the cycle begins again. From http:/ /www.nativepollinator.com/

Pesticides and Pollinators

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When do pesticides harm pollinators?

• Used in the wrong place.
• Used in the wrong amount.
• Used at the wrong time.

How long do pesticides last?

• Depends on many factors, including how it is designed and what the environment

is like where applies.

• Some work immediately, while others aren’t efgective for days, weeks or months.
• Many modern pesticides break down quickly, preventing their buildup in soils and

animals.

How do Pesticides Work?

• Interfere with the metabolism (how an insect uses energy from food) or behavior

(how insects reproduce) of pests.

• Usually work by contacting the skin or shell of a pest. Some are systemic, applied

to plants and then reaching pests when those plants are eaten.

What is a Pollinator Hedgerow?

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What benefjts do Hedgerows provide?

• A hedgerow with many difgerent kinds of plants will provide fmowers as a source of

food for pollinators all year long.

• A hedgerow with lots of woody plants will provide nesting materials for pollinators

all year long.

• If farmers do not spray pesticides on a hedgerow, it provides a refuge for

pollinators.

• Hedgerows can also provide food and shelter to birds.
• When a hedgerow is planted between the farm and the stream, it can act as a

bufger, helping to fjlter pollution, slow runofg, and shade and cool the stream.

Working Pollinators:

Tansy Ragwort and the Cinnabar Moth

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How does the Cinnabar Moth help?

• The caterpillar larvae of the Cinnabar moth eat Tansy Ragwort so heavily that the

fmower has a hard time surviving.

• Bringing Cinnabar moths here helps control the Tansy ragwort.

Why is the Tansy Ragwort a problem?

• Tansy Ragwort is a pasture weed.
• Alough it is pretty, it is toxic to cattle and horses.

How can we help the Cinnabar Moths fjght Tansy?

• Like other pollinators, Cinnabar Moths need food, shelter, and protection from

dieseases, predators and parasites.

Trivia Questions!

• 1. Name 3 Pollinators.
• 2. What can threaten pollinator habitats?
• 3. What native plant does the Blue Fender

Butterfmy eat?

• 4. How do Mason Bees pollinate?
• 5. What is Tansy Ragwort?
• 6. What is a pollinator hedgerow?

Presentation made by the Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District