Photo by JD Worth (www.jdworth.net)

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Does your morning include a cup of coffee, a mug of hot cocoa, or a glass of orange juice? You have pollinator insects to thank.

From almonds to zucchini, most fruit and vegetable crops, nuts and seeds rely on pollinators. In fact, pollinators are critical to the production of one-third of our food and beverages.

Additionally, fiber crops (such as cotton) and hay to feed livestock require insect pollination.

Although most plant pollinators are tiny, they certainly aren’t trivial. Here are some facts to add to your pollinator trivia collection.

1. About 75 percent of all flowering plant species need the help of insects or animals to move their heavy pollen grains from plant to plant (or within a flower) for fertilization.
2. There are over 100,000 species of insect pollinators. Most people know that bees are pollinators, but wasps, butterflies, moths, ants, beetles, flies, midges, mosquitoes and even some slugs do their part as well.
3. Specific pollinators look for flowers that have adapted to that one specific pollinator or a small group of pollinators by their structure, color, scent/odor, and nectar guides. This is called pollination syndrome.
4. Bees are guided by both sight and scent. Both honeybees and native wild bees are attracted to flowers with bright lively colors (especially blues and yellows). They can’t see the color red, so rarely visit red blossoms.
5. A butterfly has taste receptors on its feet. A butterfly uses its proboscis (a straw-like tongue) to drink nectar from tubular flowers.
6. A hummingbird has only a few taste buds and salivary glands in its mouth. Hummingbirds drink the nectar of flowers, which gives them a good source of glucose energy. They catch insects periodically for a protein boost.
7. Worker honeybees are female; while unknowingly pollinating plants, they are collecting pollen and nectar to feed the colony. They clean the hive, make the honey, take care of the offspring, and groom/feed the queen. Worker bees have a lifespan of about one month in summer.
8. A honeybee will visit 50 to 100 flowers during one collection trip, travelling up to three miles.
9. Bumblebees and many native bees perform buzz pollination, in which the bee grabs onto a flower’s anthers (part of the stamen) and vibrates its flight muscles, releasing a burst of pollen from pores in the anther. This is how tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and blueberries are pollinated, for example.
10. Pollen comes in many vibrant colors including red, purple, white and brown, in addition to yellow. The pollen of white sweet clover is auburn, for example.
11. Pollinators are in trouble. More than 50 native bees are in documented decline, with nine in peril. The rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis), native to Virginia, was placed on the endangered species list last spring.
12. An iconic North American pollinator — the monarch butterfly — is in severe decline, down from a billion monarchs 20 years ago to 35 million today. Exotic parasites, disease, pesticide use and misuse, and decreasing habitat may all be playing a role in pollinator decline.

How we can help

Like all living creatures, pollinators require food, water and shelter. Those of us with yards, decks or balconies can help out.

You can improve their food supply by growing native plants. Include plant diversity: those with varied bloom times as well as a variety of annuals, perennials and herbs.

Select plants that serve as larval hosts — having a place for a butterfly to lay her eggs and where the caterpillars can feed. For example, milkweed (Asclepias) is the only larval host of the monarch butterfly.

Pollinators also need a source of fresh water. A shallow bowl with a sloping side is ideal.

Provide shelter for pollinators by including plants of varying heights, dead snags, and bare earth as part of your landscape.

To recognize their significance, June 18 to 24 has been designated National Pollinator Week. To introduce your grandchildren to pollinators, take them to the Bumblebee Jamboree at the Maymont Children’s Farm on Saturday, June 16, from 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. This event is hosted by the Chesterfield County Master Gardeners. Learn more at bit.ly/2018BBJ or at Facebook/bumblebeejamboree.

Lela Martin is a Master Gardener with the Chesterfield County office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension. She is also the co-chair of the 2018 Bumblebee Jamboree.