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Why Care About Beneficial Insects?

Jennifer Smith

Posted on January 23 2019

Over 1/3 of the world's crops require at least some pollination from beneficial insects including honey bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

According to the American Beekeeping Foundation, some fruits including blueberries, apples, citrus, pears, pumpkin, strawberries and cherries rely predominately on bee pollination. Other plants, such as almonds, rely entirely on pollination for growth. Pollination not only helps to produce delicious tasting fruits and vegetables; but it also leads the way to the next generation of plants. 

This is all thanks to honeybees and other beneficial insects.

Honey Bee production accounts for over $20 billion in U.S. crop production. And, while the money is nice, the food is better. When you think about it, pollinating plants is what keeps humans alive. Therefore, honeybees are vital to our health and well-being. 

If deer, bears and other wildlife reach honey beehives and pollinating plants before we do, then we are doomed. (Not to be too dramatic; but it's true.) So, to protect the queen bee, and to continue bee production, we must keep away wildlife from gardens with wildlife fencing and other wildlife management strategies such as growing plants to keep deer away.

When we say "Save the Queen," we mean it. While spring and summer are the best times to grow pollinating flowers and organic plants, winter is the best time to install fencing and prepare for the growing season. Winter can be used to re-route deer away from landscapes and to tell them that this garden is not to be used for their personal buffet.