Benefits of Bee Habitat Go Beyond Pollination
Monday Jan 25th, 2021
News Reporter
With California Ag Today, I’m Tim Hammerich.
Building bee habitat is a great way to bring in pollinators, but its benefits go way beyond pollination, says Xerces Society senior pollinator conservation specialist Jessa Kay Cruz.
Cruz… “So in addition to obviously the marketing benefits, a lot of the habitat and the plants that support pollinators also support other beneficial insects. So like natural enemies of crop pests, lady beetles, lacewings, parasitic wasps. You know, if you're a total bug geek, you could just go down the rabbit hole here. But it's just seeing, you know, all of those insects are attracted to the same type of habitat, floral resources, all of that. And so farmers really will benefit by the ecosystem services that both pollinators provide, but also all of these other beneficial insects.”