BEE Thankful for Pollinators

Posted by: Lisa Mason, Arapahoe County Extension

We have so much to be thankful for this holiday season including the meals we eat. Have you ever wondered how much of the food on our tables is dependent on pollinators? Approximately 1/3^rd of our diet is dependent on pollinators, including some of our most nutritious fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Even our meat and dairy industries depend on pollinators because bees pollinate alfalfa and clover, which are food sources for cattle. (Food staples like corn, rice, soybeans, and wheat are either wind-pollinated or self-pollinated.)

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important food crop pollinators. Some species of bee flies (Bombyliidae family) can also pollinate crops. Photo: Lisa Mason

As you plan your holiday meals with family and friends, we can think about all the delicious foods we have because of pollinators. Here is a list of common food items and who pollinates them provided by The Pollinator Partnership:

• Almonds - Honey bees
• Anise – Honey bees
• Apples - Honey bees, blue mason orchard bees
• Apricot – Bees
• Avocado – Bees, flies, bats
• Blueberry – Over 115 kinds of bees, including bumblebees, mason bees, mining bees and leafcutter bees
• Cardamom – Honey bees, solitary bees
• Cashew – Bees, moths, fruit bats
• Cherry – Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, flies
• Chocolate – Bees, flies
• Coconut – Insects, fruit bats
• Coffee – Stingless bees, other bees, flies
• Coriander – Honey bees, solitary bees
• Cranberries – Over 40 bee species
• Dairy – Dairy cows eat alfalfa pollinated by leaf cutter and honey bees
• Fig – Over 800 species of fig wasps
• Grape – Bees
• Grapefruit – Bees
• Kiwi fruit – Honey bees, bumblebees, solitary bees
• Macadamia nuts – Bees, beetles, wasps
• Mango – Bees, flies, wasps
• Melon – Bees
• Nutmeg – Honey bees, birds
• Peach – Bees
• Pear – Honey bees, flies, mason bees
• Peppers – Bumble bees
• Peppermint – Bees, flies
• Pumpkin – Squash and gourd bees, bumble bees
• Raspberry and Blackberry – Bees, flies
• Strawberry – Bees
• Sugar cane – Bees, thrips
• Tea plants – Flies, bees, and other insects
• Tequila – Bats
• Tomato – Bumble bees
• Vanilla – Bees

Note: This list is not comprehensive. Many other crops also require pollination by insects and animals.

Some species of leafcutter bees (Megachile spp.) are important crop pollinators. Photo: Lisa Mason

Now you can quiz your friends and family over the holidays about what foods are dependent on pollinators.  

Have a safe, healthy and happy Thanksgiving!