Seeds are planted, watered, washed in sunlight, charged with electrons during a thunder and lightning storm, and nurtured to maturity. We as humans are absolutely dependent on this process. But so do pollinators. The hard-working players in this ecological balancing act are active in our gardens 24/7.
Birds, bees, butterflies, moths, bats, beetles, ants, and yes, even flies have important beneficial functions to perform in the garden. Flowers, fruits, and vegetables have adopted elegant systems for attracting hosts and adhering and distributing their pollen for optimal species survival.
To a bird, insect, or bat, your yard is a metropolis filled with neon signs and billboards advertising your wares. Neon signs and billboards are the petals of the flowers. They attract attention through color, including UV markers, fragrance, shape, and size. The final reward for the transporter is the sweet and nutritious nectar of the flower. The base of the sign is the stem of the flower, which is designed to hold the flower high enough to be easily seen. This ensures that it won’t get trampled by insect and bug traffic in the soil before it has a chance to be fertilized.
A bee has seen the ultraviolet nectar signal and is making its way towards its target. The hairs on the bees’ abdomen are statically charged to help retain pollen as it brushes against the anther, which is the male part of the plant that produces fertilizing dust. Bees also have ‘saddlebags’ and ‘baskets’ built into their legs and body parts to carry pollen to the next flower. Once the pollen is brushed over the sticky stigma (the female part of the plant), it travels down the stigma tube to the ovary and ovules at the base of the flower. There, each ovule develops into a new fertilized flower seed. And that’s the ultimate reward for the flower!
Evolution has further modified the plants to provide the right size nectar tube to accommodate the exact size bug’s tongue. For example, moths flutter to feed, so they need a flat flower with a deep tube that matches the length of the moth’s tongue. The flower will be white or too pale to be seen in the moonlight, and will be too scented to be found in the dark of night.
Bats also work the night shift. Those flowers that open after sunset and are extremely fragrant, large, showy, and white with larger pollen grains will attract the attention of our echolocators. They have bristles on their tongues that get a bit of pollen on them as they lick up the nectar. It is then transferred to the next flower from the bat’s head, feet and tongue. Larger, harder flowers will accommodate the bat’s head without damaging it. Additionally, bats can consume thousands of harmful insects each night. I’d hate to think where we’d be without your watch!
Bees are especially attracted to the colors yellow and blue, as well as sweet-smelling plants. The floral tubes of these plants turn out to be just the right size for the bee’s tongue to reach. Interestingly, snapdragons can only be ‘unlocked’ by a bee of the correct size and weight to ‘provide the correct key’ to open the ‘magic door’ to the ‘treasure room’.
On the contrary, butterflies do not have a good sense of smell, but they can see the color red. Did you know that they ‘taste’ with their feet? They have highly sensitive receptors that tell them whether they are on the right nectar-rich plant or on the edge of a delicious mud puddle full of minerals and moisture necessary for their survival. Flowers that produce clusters of smaller flowers make a good landing platform for butterflies so they can drink safely.
Those plants that store their pollen inside the anther rather than on top, such as tomatoes, need to be shaken to ensure that the pollen is released through the pores in the stamen. Bumblebees offers this service. They land on the flower and then vibrate their wings, and voila!
Beetles are another flying creature that can benefit a garden. They love the spicy or fruity aromas of the large greenish or whitish flowers. Since beetles are fairly efficient chewers, these particular flowers have developed armor to protect the delicate ovules from damage as the beetles go about their business as pollinators.
Hummingbirds have a good sense of smell and are drawn to the red, orange, and pink tubular flowers in your garden. I’m sure you’ve seen a hummingbird drinking nectar from a hanging fuchsia or potted petunia. They require flower petals that curve away from their fast-beating wings as they feed. Pollen is transferred to its chest, beak, and head in the process.
Songbirds do not have a strong sense of smell, so they seek out flowers in bright colors such as red, orange, pink, yellow, and purple. They not only spread pollen through their beaks, heads, chest, and feet, but also distribute the seeds they have eaten through their droppings. A place where birds regularly congregate will produce ‘surprise’ gardens, which have been automatically planted and fertilized by our beautiful fliers.
In addition, birds consume a large number of insects. Insects that can damage our flowers, vegetables, and fruits are fed to baby birds as a nutrient-rich source of protein. This helps the baby birds grow fast and strong. Adult birds also benefit from eating these protein snacks. Blue jays even use ants to “comb” their feathers and repel other insects with the formic acid they exude! Fortunately, our backyard birds kill large numbers of insects every day.
All this biodiversity ensures a highly varied gene pool. The larger the gene pool, the greater the chances that many different species will survive to reproduce. Resist the urge to squash a bee or squash a ladybug. Remember, they do great things for our orchards, farms, and gardens.
Without birds and other flying creatures to provide these essential benefits to our gardens, we would be overrun by harmful insects, which would then destroy our wonderful flower, vegetable and fruit trees. Even if they weren’t finished off by insects, without the pollination process carried out so efficiently by our pollinating friends, there would be no more flowers, vegetables or fruits. Our ecological balance would be destroyed and we with it. That’s how important these birds and other vastly underappreciated flying creatures are to all of us!