Meghan Milbrath - WKTV Journal

Squash bees. Photo by Ben Phillips, MSU Extension.

By Meghan Milbrath, Michigan State University Extension

The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, is a great pollinator of squashes, gourds and pumpkins. Squash blossoms are a source of food for foraging female bees and provide pollen for the young in their underground nests. For the male bees, squash blossoms act as a bed and breakfast—the male bees actually sleep in the flowers of squash plants. They spend so much time in the blossoms that the male bees are efficient pollinators along with the females (in most bee species the females do all the heavy lifting for pollination).

Squash bees have a long history with squash plants since both are native to North America. The spread of the squash bee seems to be linked to the spread of farmers and gardeners growing squash. You can learn more about the history of their spread in a great video by Margarita Lopez-Uribe.

Researchers are trying to determine the range of squash bees in the United States and are counting on citizen scientists to help. If you have vine crops in your garden, you can help us survey for these pollinators. Two labs are looking for data, so you can help by filling out two data sheets:

To send information to the USDA Agricultural Research Station (ARS) in Logan, Utah, use this paper form.
To send information to Michigan State University, use this paper form, use this link on your phone or use a browser survey found on the MSU Squash Bee page.

You can often find squash bees early in the morning on blossoms in your garden. To get familiar with what you are looking for, watch this video from the ARS lab and this video by Katharina Ullmann, view our resources on the MSU Vegetable Entomology website and check out these Bug Guide photos.

To learn more about squash bees:

Listen to this PolliNation podcast where Jim Cane discusses the biology of squash bees with Andony Melathopoulos.
Read “Perfect Pumpkin Pollinators: The Squash Bees!” from the USDA AgResearch Magazine.
Watch this video on squash bee natural history.

For more information, visit MSU’s Squash Bee Project page.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

Courtesy Michigan State University Extension

By Meghan Milbrath, Michigan State University Extension

Many Michiganders are helping pollinators by planting flowers that provide nutrition and habitat for our birds and bees. Pollinators across the country are experiencing population declines: annual honey bee losses range around 40 percent, monarch butterfly populations have experienced severe declines and some of Michigan’s native pollinators are becoming endangered, like the rusty patched bumble bee, which was listed as an endangered species in 2017 and hasn’t been seen in Michigan since 2001. A key cause of pollinator decline is a loss of habitat. It is essential to plant flowers and restore habitat if we want to have healthy pollinator populations in our state.

Anyone can provide pollinator habitat by planting flowers, and there are many programs that promote and incentivize planting for pollinators. This year, two organizations expanded their programs to include Michigan, providing seeds to individuals and organizations interested in helping pollinators. Check out the two programs below as well as the resources at Michigan Pollinator Initiative to help establish pollinator habitat.

Project Wingspan collects and distributes seeds for monarchs and the endangered rusty patched bumble bee.

The Pollinator Partnership has joined forces with several organizations and agencies to launch their new initiative, Project Wingspan, and they need your help! The project will be collecting seeds throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan. They have put a call out for enthusiastic seed collecting volunteers in all six states to help identify and collect milkweed and other common nectar plants. As a seed collecting volunteer, you will be provided with training and will be making valuable contributions to supporting migrating monarchs and the imperiled rusty patched bumble bee.

No seed collecting experience is required, but basic plant knowledge is preferred. Training and seed collection will start in spring 2019, but you can get on the list now. To sign up as a seed collector, email Amber Barnes at ab@pollinator.org with your name, city, state and preferred email address or fill out the online form. You will be added to their volunteer contact list and more information will follow soon.

The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund ‘Seed a Legacy’ program provides seeds to landowners for restoration and feeding bees.

The Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund is a nonprofit dedicated to establishing high quality pollinator habitats. Their Seed A Legacy Pollinator Habitat Program provides a unique opportunity for the managers of private, public and corporate lands to establish high quality pollinator habitat. They develop mixes that are focused on different pollinators: monarchs, honey bees and native pollinators. You can apply to receive seeds for free or for a discount. They have a lot of information on how to successfully establish a habitat, and they have put a lot of work to make sure their seed mixes have high value to pollinators.

Check out many more resources on planting for pollinators at the Michigan Pollinator Initiative website.