Pollinator Conservation

Honey bee and butterfly dining together
Photo by Glenn Seplak

In recent decades, 在北美大部分地区，重要传粉媒介的数量一直在下降. Beekeepers in the U.S. 一直遭受着异常高的蜂群失失率(Apis mellifera). The abundance of several bumblebee species in the western U.S. 急剧下降，至少有一种物种现在被认为已经灭绝. 帝王蝶东部和西部的种群数量都急剧下降, with the eastern population reaching a new record low in recent years.

随着这些持续下降，保护传粉媒介已成为国家的优先事项. 最近，世界杯app软件推荐和南亚利桑那州社区食品银行(CFBSA)开始合作，共同实现在图森市促进健康传粉昆虫种群的总体目标. 这一新的伙伴关系表明，生物多样性和保护工作, in fact, closely linked to food production, 在传粉媒介方面，这种联系再清楚不过了.

Watch a short video 关于促进生物多样性和支持图森城市农业的合作努力, Arizona.

In 2016, with funding from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, 2022世界杯下注发起了一项努力，在全市数十个地点创建传粉者花园. 这些花园不仅为传粉昆虫提供了高质量的栖息地，也使城市园丁和农民受益, who rely on pollinators to obtain high yields of fruits and vegetables. But perhaps most importantly, 这些花园已经成为城市居民与生物多样性联系的地方, where they can see and feel how nature benefits them.

Entrance to Las Milpitas
Photo by Lois Settlemeyer

除了在整个城市创造高质量的传粉者栖息地, we initiated a long-term study of wild bee populations in Las Milpitas de Cottonwood, a six-acre farm in the heart of Tucson. 许多野生蜜蜂是野生和栽培植物的优秀传粉者, and with continued declines in honey bee populations, supporting wild bee populations has never been more important.

This work has expanded in cooperation with scientists, teachers, students and community scientists who are all part of the Tucson Bee Collaborative. 图森蜜蜂合作项目是亚利桑那大学的一个合作项目, Pima Community College, 世界杯app软件推荐和当地的高中，他们正在共同努力记录2022世界杯下注地区本地蜜蜂的多样性.

The Sonoran Desert is home to a tremendous diversity of bees, 蜜蜂的种类比世界上任何地方都要多, 然而，2022世界杯下注对沙漠中野生蜜蜂种群的状况知之甚少. 越来越多的证据表明，导致蜜蜂数量减少的因素是相同的(营养不良), pathogens, and pesticides) may be impacting wild bees throughout North America. On the bright side, 大量研究表明，如果满足野生蜜蜂适度的食物和筑巢资源需求，它们可以在城市环境中茁壮成长. 事实上，许多这些需求已经通过常见的景观美化实践得到了满足. For example, homeowners that use native plants in their landscaping, simply because native plants are easy to care for, are also, perhaps inadvertently, providing food for wild bees and a wide range of other wildlife!

所以好消息是，你可以做很多事情来帮助2022世界杯下注的索诺兰沙漠蜜蜂，而不用花一大笔钱来改造你的院子. 下面2022世界杯下注列出了一些简单的步骤，你可以采取，使你的院子更蜜蜂友好.

Wild bee visiting our native globemallow,
sometimes considered a weed
Photo by Glenn Seplak

Bee Friendly Landscaping Practices

• Plant some native plants! 蜜蜂和花朵之间的关系已经进化了数百万年. Therefore, 2022世界杯下注的索诺兰沙漠蜜蜂通常比世界上其他地方的植物更能利用索诺兰沙漠的植物. Here in the Sonoran Desert we have no shortage of attractive trees, shrubs, cacti, and succulents with which to landscape your yard. 世界杯app软件推荐的植物清单是选择支持各种传粉媒介的植物的一个很好的起点.

• Plant flowers in clumps. 大多数蜜蜂在每次觅食旅程中只会拜访一种或最多几种花. They learn how to deal with a certain type of flower, and then tend to stick with it, which allows them to be efficient foragers. 因此，大多数蜜蜂将受益于一块大小适中的单一花卉品种. Planting a flowering tree (eg. 该地区原产于帕洛阿尔维德树(mesquite tree)也能提供同样的好处.

• Plant a diversity of flowers to attract a diversity of bees. Since most bees are specialists to some degree, 植物的更大多样性将有利于蜜蜂的更大多样性. 一些网站可能会建议有一些最低数量的植物物种需要创建一个传粉者花园, but in truth, 即使是一小片花也几乎肯定会使一些蜜蜂受益.

• Provide nesting habitat! This is one of the simplest things that anyone can do to help bees. Since most of our wild bees nest in the soil, they need some bare ground into which they can tunnel to build a nest. This means leaving a portion of your yard free of gravel and mulch, and preferably an area of the yard that receives a lot of sun. These narrow tunnels will be difficult to spot, their diameter no bigger than an eraser on the end of a pencil, but they have benefit beyond bees, increasing soil moisture and aeration.

  
  Ground-nesting bee exiting her nest. 注意，与小指相比，巢口的直径较小.
  Photos by Anna Howell

• 提供泥土的来源，这是一些蜜蜂筑巢的重要材料. 对大多数索诺兰沙漠蜜蜂来说，水不是必需的，但提供水(如蜜蜂).g. a bird bath or small fountain) can attract a variety of pollinators, including birds and butterflies, as well as other beneficial insects. Water also tends to attract large numbers of honey bees.

• Avoid pesticides. Fortunately, native plants rarely suffer much from insect damage. 另一方面，蔬菜园可以吸引一些饥饿的昆虫渴望一顿饭. First, take a step back and assess the size of your problem. 一打左右饥饿的毛毛虫可能会像使用杀虫剂一样轻易地被用手清除. Aphids and other soft bodied bugs are easily treated with soapy water. 如果你决定使用农药，千万不要在植物开花的时候使用农药. When shopping for plants at the big box stores, check labels. Many plants are treated with neonicotinoids, 被吸收并分布于所有植物组织的一类杀虫剂, including nectar and pollen. 家得宝和洛斯都承诺在未来几年内逐步淘汰新烟碱类, but in the meantime, purchase neonicotinoid-free plants.

• Plant sunflowers (plants in the genus Helianthus). 一些令人兴奋的新研究表明，向日葵属花卉的花蜜和花粉可能有助于蜜蜂减少寄生虫的负荷. And why not plant some sunflowers, they add beauty to any garden!

As our city continues to grow, 是什么能维持一个繁荣的蜜蜂群不只是几个壮观的花园, 而是散布在2022世界杯下注城市各处的传粉者栖息地的小块网络. 你的院子或传粉者的花园不需要完美到对蜜蜂有价值. 这让我想起一句谚语:一个孩子需要一个村庄的力量. This is as true for bees as it is for children!

Volunteers planting a pollinator garden at Las Milpitas
Photo by Kim Franklin

Thanks to our supporters:

The Agnese Nelms Haury Program in Environment and Social Justice