Native Pollinator Guide Helps Wild Bees and Organic Farms

Summary

Managing farm habitat for wild pollinators

Coordinator: Scott Black, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation,
Portland, OR
Stakeholders: U.S. organic producers interested in wild bee conservation and pollination services

Wild pollinators can provide important pollination services for many food crops. Wild bees in particular can significantly augment—and sometimes even replace--pollination services provided by the European honey bee. For some crops wild bees are even more effective pollinators than their honey bee cousins. By understanding the landscape and conservation needs of wild bees and other native pollinators, organic farmers can manage wild pollinator habitat and enhance pollination services on their farms.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has developed a comprehensive toolkit for native pollinator conservation on organic farms: Organic Farming for Bees – Conservation of Native Crop Pollinators in Organic Farming Systems, partially funded by OFRF. The toolkit provides materials designed to help organic farmers conserve native pollinators and take advantage of the crop pollination services they can provide. In addition, a workshop curriculum complements these resources and provides training on native pollinator conservation on organic farms.

The goal of this project is to provide organic growers with sustainable pollination services through the creation and management of farm habitat that supports native bees. Specific project objectives are to educate organic growers about (1) recent research that increases our understanding of the role native bees play in crop pollination, (2) the specific habitat needs of native bees, (3) how to provide this habitat, and (4) how to reduce impacts of organic farming practices on these pollinators.

Native pollinators have two basic habitat needs: a diversity of flowering plants and nesting sites.

The native pollinator toolkit is organized into fact sheets, each outlining a different protocol for maximizing habitat and minimizing risks to wild pollinators. The fact sheets include extensive regional plants lists for creating native bee habitat, guidelines for building and maintaining artificial nest sites, and strategies for managing organic pesticides to reduce harmful impacts to bees. Special attention is given to the subject of tillage and other weed management practices, which are among the organic farming activities that pose the most potential harm to native bees. While different species of native bees use a variety of nesting sites including natural tunnels and cavities, approximately 70% of our native bees nest underground.

In addition to more secure and effective pollination, organic growers benefit from the other ecological services these protocols provide. The same habitat enhancements and management practices that support wild pollinators also support beneficial insects such as parasitoid wasps, predacious flies and beetles, ambush and assassin bugs, lacewings and others.

Many of these conservation efforts can be funded through cost-sharing and incentive payments made available through farm bill programs. Among these funding sources are Natural Resources Conservation Service programs such as the Environmental Quality Improvement Program and the Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program, as well as the Farm Service Agency Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and the CRP State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement program.

The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Scott Hoffman Black, the organization’s director, believes pollinator conservation and organic farms are a natural fit. The group embarked on this project because they saw the need to work more with farm landscapes in their ongoing efforts in support of invertebrate protection.

“Agriculture is the largest global land use on the planet, and we need to conserve biodiversity through working with agriculture,” says Hoffman Black. “We felt that pollinators would be a great way to reach out to farmers--if you want an apple, you need pollinators. The organic farmer audience was perfect because we could talk about a benefit to them —that they could benefit the environment and benefit themselves at the same time. They get it.”

By establishing management protocols for wild bees, wild pollinators gain new opportunities for success and a new place in agricultural ecosystems. This is a win-win situation, providing growers with better pollination and new habitat for native species.