Counting bees and beetles, butterflies and birds. It’s a new citizen science undertaking coming to North Carolina for the first time, and depending upon the findings, it could have an impact on agriculture, the food supply, and the economy.
Onslow County Extension’s Consumer Horticulture Agent Emilee Morrison said the upcoming count will provide more information about pollinators in three southern states.
Over the past few decades, the population of pollinators like bees, butterflies, birds, and bats has been moving steadily downward. The plight of the honeybee gets most of the attention, but Morrison says there are many others to worry about.
“The honeybee was brought over from Europe, you know, with the settlers,” she said, “In North Carolina alone there's actually over 500 species of bees, native bees, and that's just bees. We also have butterflies, and you know, there's beetles and flies and other things -- hummingbirds -- that are also pollinators.”
And she said there are two main culprits behind the decline of pollinators in the U.S.
“Lack of habitat when they clear land and then people just have a lawn,” is the first, Morrison said. “The other is pesticide use. So, even things like spraying for mosquitoes can be really detrimental -- using insecticide on any flowering plant.”
Whether it’s for water conservation in drought-stricken areas of the country or to provide a better habitat for the birds and the bees, she says some people are replacing that wide expanse of green grass in their front yards with native plants.
“I know people like their lawns, which they serve a function, but lawns in general don't provide any benefits to pollinators or most wildlife for that matter,” Morrison said.
When it comes to supporting the pollinator population, Morrison says think flowers.
She said, “The goal is to have something blooming for as much of the year as possible. There are things in our region that bloom ... we can have something blooming year-round.”
In eastern North Carolina, Morrison said that can include a variety of plantings, “Things like bee Balm or Baptisia, which is wild indigo, and then in the summer thinking of, you know, milkweed and mountain mint and buttonbush, you know, a lot of these summer flowering plants. And then for the fall, all of our asters and golden rod. And then in the winter we can have things too, you know, in our vegetable gardens or letting some of the weeds in your yard bloom, things like that.”
Later this month, August 18 and 19, Morrison is asking people to take a moment to participate in the 2023 Pollinator Census, which will help determine the number and types of bees, birds and bugs moving pollen from plant to plant and help researchers meet two goals.
“The first is to educate people about creating sustainable pollinator habitats. You know, planting the right flowers, the diversity of plants that the pollinators need,” she said, “The second is to increase the entomological literacy of people – so, people to understand more about insects, and then the third is to generate useful data about the pollinator populations in the southeast.”
It’s not a new project, but it is new to our state. Morrison said, “This is actually the first year that North Carolina is participating. The project started in Georgia through the University of Georgia, and then last year South Carolina joined.”
And she says participation isn’t difficult, nor is it time consuming.
“All you have to do is find a flowering plant that pollinators are visiting and then you sit there for about 15 minutes, and you just tally everything that visits that that plant. Then after you've gotten your data, you can upload it into the website.”
There are two main goals of the pollinator census.
“Pollinators are crucial to a lot of the things that we eat,” Morrison said, “You know, a lot of our agriculture relies on pollination, so putting an economic value on that to help raise awareness about pollinators and then also city planners or businesses, home gardeners just understanding which plants provide the most benefit if you want to attract pollinators.”
Those interested can sign up to participate in the 2023 Great Pollinator Census HERE.
