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Donna VanBuecken

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Pollinators and our Food

April 19, 2019

I got an e-mail about a naysayer recently who was doubting my reference to foods requiring pollination. So I thought you might be interested in my response.

1. Potatoes don’t require pollinators — if you put “do potatoes require buzz pollination” into Google search, you’ll come up with all kinds of references to the fact potatoes require buzz pollination. I’ll just list the first here https://blog.therainforestsite.greatergood.com/cs-buzz-pollination/

Pollen is carried away from this Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) in this native bumblebee’s pollen sac. Photo by Robert Carlson

2. Corn, rice and wheat do not need pollinators — corn, rice and wheat are either wind-pollinated or self-pollinated or both. So, no, they don’t need to be pollinated by insects. However, corn and soybeans in particular, offer pollen used by pollinators. Honey bees use the pollen for their young, and while collecting it, also help loosen the pollen which drifts away and lands on the female flowers. This undoubtedly improves corn, rice and wheat pollination success. See https://www.beeculture.com/catch-buzz-kind-insect-pollinators-commonly-found-corn-soybean-fields/ and  https://dghaskell.com/2011/07/30/bees-pollinating-corn/

Although I don’t know if I’ve ever stated this in my blog, the following is a piece of information I use frequently when I’m debating naysayers.

3. One out of three bites of food we eat depends upon pollinators — here again just do a Google search. This time for “1 in 3 bites of food requires pollination” and you’ll find many references, the first of which is  https://pollinator.org/pollinators. “Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, beetles, and other small mammals that pollinate plants are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food. They also sustain our ecosystems and produce our natural resources by helping plants reproduce.”

Foods Pollinated by Insects

Lastly, here’s a link listing all the foods pollinated by insects https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crop_plants_pollinated_by_bees

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Comments

  1. Toni Stahl says

    April 19, 2019 at 4:14 pm

    They also are responsible for drinks – coffee and wine. Save our pollinators!

    Reply
    • Donna VanBuecken says

      April 19, 2019 at 4:35 pm

      You are absolutely correct, Toni. Thanks for reminding us.

      Reply
    • Lucy Valitchka says

      April 23, 2019 at 8:41 pm

      Great article, Donna. Pollinators are getting lots of attention lately.

      Reply
      • Donna VanBuecken says

        April 25, 2019 at 9:33 am

        Hi! Toni — Thank goodness!

  2. Mandy ploch says

    April 19, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    Donna gives us FACTS!

    Reply
    • Donna VanBuecken says

      April 21, 2019 at 1:03 pm

      Welcome home, Mandy. Assuming your speaking about facts about “1 out of 3 bites of food requires pollinators,” S E McGregor’s research is typically cited as the authority. Take a look at Insect Pollination Of Cultivated Crop Plants specifically page 5 for his conclusion. “When these sources, the animal and plant products, are considered, it appears that perhaps one-third of our total diet is dependent, directly or indirectly, upon insect-pollinated plants.” There are many facts cited within his research paper.

      Reply

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