February 2025
In this blog series, we will highlight the vital connection between plants and pollinators, showcasing their essential role in maintaining biodiversity and supporting healthy ecosystems. Each month, we’ll explore specific plants and pollinators, delving into how they contribute to agriculture and natural habitats. This series offers an opportunity to deepen your understanding of these remarkable species and their essential roles in maintaining healthy ecosystems. By learning more about their unique interactions, you can better appreciate their importance and the ways we can promote environmental stewardship in our own communities.
Plant: Maple Tree (Acer spp.)
Maples are excellent for bees as they provide abundant nectar in early spring when few other plants are blooming, supporting bee populations emerging from winter dormancy. Most books will tell you February to March, but beekeepers will tell you that you can see blooms as early as the week of Christmas and into January.
The sucrose concentrations of a Maple bloom are consistently higher than 33% of total sugar, which categorizes this nectar as sucrose rich. The pollen of analyzed Acer species have on average 25.3% of protein, and no considerable differences were revealed among the species. To put this in layman’s terms, it is high quality food for pollinators and this tree along with willow is considered a “brood-builder” bloom as the colonies can grow exponentially once they begin to yield. In other words, Florida maples are an important early-season nectar source for pollinators when other flowering plants are scarce.
Pollinator: Western Honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus)
The honey bee is considered the most prolific pollinator globally. Honey bees are essential for pollination, as they visit a wide variety of plants, including crops and wildflowers, and are highly efficient in transferring pollen between flowers. Their ability to work in large colonies and their widespread presence make them incredibly effective pollinators, crucial for both agriculture and biodiversity.
In terms of sheer numbers and economic importance, honey bees are often regarded as the most prolific due to their widespread use in commercial agriculture for pollinating crops like almonds, fruits, and vegetables. However, native bees, such as bumblebees and solitary bees, also play vital roles in pollination and can be even more effective for specific plants or ecosystems.
