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Ontario Pesticide Ban
Fact Sheets
SEEKING POLLINATORS FOR LASTING GARDEN RELATIONSHIP - Fact SheetPollinators wanted. May be beetles (most common), butterflies, moths, ants, or any other insect that pollinates flowers. Apply immediately, numbers are dropping and you are needed. Food supply depends on you- also garden beauty.Living conditions favourable to your needs will be provided. Flowering plants (mostly native plants), pesticide-free gardens, water, leaves and plants for overwintering.  Stratford Camera Club While we weren’t looking, something happened to our pollinators. Pollinators
are the creatures that take pollen from one plant to another. This transfer
of pollen fertilizes plants and enables them to produce their seed- which may
come as a grain, a fruit, or a vegetable. Major pollinators are beetles (the
majority) ants, wasps, bees, butterflies, and moths. Their numbers have declined
by between 30-40% in the last twenty years, due to loss of habitat and pesticide
use.
Consider us. Every third mouthful you eat begins with a pollinator.
Foods that we eat that depend on pollination include: Apple, Apricot, Avocado, Berry (blackberry, blueberry,
cranberry, gooseberry, huckleberry, raspberry, strawberry), Cherry, Citrus (grapefruit,
lemon, mandarin, nectarine, pummelo, tangelo, tangerine), Currants, Kiwi, Litchi,
Mango, Muskmelons (cantaloupe, honeydew, persian melon), Passion Fruit, Peach,
Pears, Persimmon, Plum, Prune, Watermelon, Artichoke, Chinese cabbage, Pimenta,
Asparagus, Dill, Pumpkin, Broccoli, Eggplant, Radish, Brussel sprouts, Garlic,
Rutabaga, Cabbage, Kale, Carrots, Kolhrabi, Squash, Cauliflower, Leek, Turnip,
Celery, Mustard, Onion, Parsley, Pepper, and Cucumber.
Turn all or part of your turf into a diverse garden of blooms that will invite pollinators. Strive for native plants if possible, these are the plants the pollinators in Ontario will come to first, as “home ground” (Bonus: native plants require very little extra care!).
Butterflies and moths need specific plants to provide food for their larvae. They will only place their chrysalises on those plants. The Monarch, e.g., must have a member of the Milkweed family for its larvae. No milkweed, no monarchs. See Butterfly Gardens at www.stratfordnaturally.ca or consult the wealth of information at the Stratford Library.
Shelter is especially important, for protection and nesting sites. Be sure to leave garden and plant debris to decompose naturally. Those stalks and leaves not only contribute greatly to the health of your soil, they also shelter cocoons, overwintering insects and chrysalises. By Sheila Clarke, re-printed from the Stratford Gazette. Above information from the following sources: Vicki Beard, Stratford Parks Department, Pollination Canada, the US Department of Agriculture, Peterborough Green Up, and the Society for Organic Urban Land Care. See also the following Stratford, Naturally fact sheets: Butterfly Gardens, Beneficial Insects, Native Plants, Plants That Attract Beneficial Insects, Putting the Garden to Bed, and Wildflowers. Follow pollinators further at the Stratford Public Library! 19 St. Andrew Street (519-271-0220) (Click for Website)
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