Last month, we experienced historic snowfall throughout the Panhandle. During these magical snow days, I noticed that I had to refill my bird feeder faster than expected. Even as snow fell, birds flocked to the feeder all day long.
UF/IFAS Photo by Cristina Carrizosa
In winter, birds rely more on bird feeders because many plants are dormant and aren’t producing food. Insects are also less abundant during the colder months. (Read about where they go here: Where Do Insects Go in the Winter?). Growing native plants in your landscape can help provide extra food sources for birds and habitat for overwintering insects. However, long periods of freezing temperatures, like those we experienced last month and in December of 2022, can damage natural food sources and make it even harder for birds to find food.
Consider supporting your local and migrating bird populations this winter by putting out a bird feeder. In return, expect a colorful show you can enjoy in your own yard! Here are some recommendations for success:
Different birds are attracted to different types of food and have different feeding habits. To reduce mess, look for seed mixes that don’t contain milo, oats, and red millet, often labeled “no mess”. These seeds are less desirable to birds and often end up scattered on the ground, which can attract rodents. Uneaten millet seeds can sprout and grow under bird feeders.
Millet growing under bird feeder from uneaten seed.
Pine cone bird feeder
Suet is an excellent choice for winter feeding because it’s a high-protein, high-energy food source for birds. You can buy suet at the store or make your own using this recipe: DIY Suet Recipe. Another fun, homemade option is the classic pinecone bird feeder made with peanut butter or lard. This kid-friendly activity can be found here: Pinecone Bird Feeder
It’s important to clean your feeders every two to three weeks to prevent the spread of diseases, get rid of moldy seeds, and keep the birds healthy. Most bird feeders can be cleaned with a 10% bleach solution, while wooden feeders are best cleaned with hot, soapy water. Sugar water in hummingbird feeders should be changed every 3-5 days or more frequently if they’re in direct sunlight or hot weather. Don’t forget to wash your hands after cleaning or refilling your bird feeder!
The best way to support your local birds is by planting native plants and providing a safe habitat in your yard. Native plants produce food and attract insects that birds feed on, helping them thrive year-round. When food is scarce, bird feeders can be an important supplement, but regular cleaning is essential to maintain bird health.
For more detailed information on feeder selection, food types, and tips, visit: Bird Feeder Guide.
Goldenrod soldier beetles inadvertently transferring pollen while feeding on nectar and pollen grains. Photo by Grandbrothers, Adobe Stock.
Pollinators contribute to the reproduction of over 87 percent of the world’s flowering plants and are crucial for agriculture, with 75 percent of the different types of crops we grow for food relying on pollinators to some extent to achieve their yields. Perhaps most importantly, one-third of global food production is dependent on pollination.
While bees often take the spotlight in discussions about pollination, there’s a whole cast of lesser-known characters playing vital roles. From beetles, flies, ants, moths, and even birds and bats, a diverse array of creatures quietly ensures the fertility of our crops and the stability of our ecosystems.
Beetles as Pollinators
Beetles, often overlooked in the pollination process, play a crucial role as one of nature’s primary pollinators, especially for ancient flowering plants like magnolias and spicebush. These insects, which were among the first to visit flowers, are known as “mess and soil” pollinators due to their less-than-delicate approach. As they feast on petals and other floral parts, beetles inadvertently collect pollen on their bodies. They lack specialized structures for transporting pollen; instead, pollen grains adhere to their bodies as they move from flower to flower. The flowers that attract beetles tend to be large, bowl-shaped, and emit strong, fruity, or spicy scents to lure the beetles in. Despite their seemingly destructive behavior, beetles are essential for the reproduction of the plants they visit.
A fly lands on a saltbush, unintentionally aiding in pollination. Photo by Karan A. Rawlins, University of Georgia, Bugwood.org.
Flies as Pollinators
Flies, often dismissed as mere nuisances, are crucial pollinators. With their bustling activity around flowers, flies inadvertently transfer pollen from one flower to another as they search for nectar and other food sources.
Flies are particularly attracted to flowers with strong odors and dull colors, characteristics often overlooked by other pollinators. While they may not be as efficient or specialized as bees, flies make up for it in sheer numbers and ubiquity, contributing significantly to the pollination of a wide variety of plant species, including many crops essential for humans.
Moths as Pollinators
And then there are moths, the nocturnal counterparts of butterflies, silently pollinating flowers under the cover of darkness. Drawn to flowers with pale or white petals and strong fragrances, such as apple, pear, and cherry blossoms, moths play a role in pollinating various plant species, contributing to overall yield and quality of the harvest. Their long proboscis allows them to reach deep into flowers, accessing nectar sources that may be out of reach for other pollinators.
Ghost orchids (Dendrophylax lindenii) can provide shelter and nesting sites for arboreal ants, which in turn, may aid in pollination.
Ants as Pollinators
While ants are primarily known for their role as scavengers and defenders of their colonies, they also contribute supplementary to pollination of some plants in surprising ways.
In tropical forests, certain plants referred to as ant-plants or myrmecophytes, form close, sometimes obligatory partnerships with ants. These plants feature specialized hollow structures known as domatia, which serve as homes for ant colonies in exchange for protection and pollination services for the plant. Domatia vary by species, but can include stems, thorns, roots, stipules, petioles, or leaves. Some orchid species, such as the ghost orchid (Dendrophylax lindenii), which are native to Cuba and southwest Florida, provide shelter and nesting sites for an arboreal ant species called acrobat ants (Crematogaster ashmeadi). The ants, in turn, protect the orchids from herbivores and may aid in pollination.
Another strategy of some flowers is to develop nectaries on their exterior to entice ants, deterring other insects from stealing the nectar by accessing it from the side, thus compelling them to enter the flower in a manner more favorable for pollination. While ants can clearly contribute to pollination, researchers have also found that some ants secrete a natural antibiotic, which protects them from infections but harms pollen grains.
Birds as Pollinators
A juvenile male ruby-throated hummingbird serving as a pollinator as it flits from flower to flower, sipping nectar. Photo by Chase D’Animulls, Adobe Stock.
When we imagine pollinators, birds might not be the first creatures that come to mind. However, birds, comprising around 2,000 nectar-feeding species, play a significant role as pollinators among vertebrates.
Hummingbirds, with their tiny size and lightning-fast wings, are nature’s dynamos of pollination. Their slender bills and long tongues are perfectly adapted to extract the sugary nectar from flowers, inadvertently transferring pollen that adheres to their head and neck as they feed on other flowers. The ruby-throated hummingbird stands out as Florida’s prominent native bird engaged in plant pollination.
But it’s not just hummingbirds; other bird species, from sunbirds to honeyeaters, play their part in pollination too. Their behaviors, such as perching on flowers or probing deep into blossoms, can facilitate the transfer of pollen.
Bats as Pollinators
In the darkness of night, bats perform a vital ecological service: pollination. Particularly in tropical regions, bats have co-evolved with certain plant species, forming intricate mutualistic relationships. Surprisingly, over 500 plant species worldwide rely on bats for pollination, including important crops like agave, banana, cacao, guava, and mango.
Even insect-eating bats, such as this Brazilian free-tailed bat, can inadvertently contribute to pollination as it feeds on insects within flowers. Photo by Phil, Adobe Stock.
In Florida, all native bats are insectivores, primarily preying on insects such as mosquitoes, moths, and beetles. However, recent research suggests that insect-eating bats may even outperform their nectar-feeding counterparts in certain cases when it comes to pollination efficiency. As these bats feed on insects inhabiting flowers, they inadvertently spread pollen during the process, highlighting the diverse and sometimes unexpected roles bats play in ecosystems.
Recognizing and conserving all pollinator species, from birds and beetles to bats and ants, is crucial for maintaining ecosystem balance and ensuring food security. By promoting pollinator-friendly practices and habitat conservation, we can safeguard the intricate web of life that sustains us all.
Do you enjoy a tasty bowl of fruit in the morning? Or maybe a hot steaming cup of coffee? If the answer is yes, then raise (or tip) your hat to our pollinators. About 75% of food crops depend on pollination to some extent, but pollinators provide the bulk of the pollination for over 80% of the world’s flowering plants. A pollinator can be birds, bats, or even small mammals but, insects such as ants, bees, beetles, wasps, butterflies, and moths do the bulk of the pollination that affects our daily lives.
Plants normally benefits from attracting a particular type of pollinator to their flowers, ensuring transfer and hopefully resulting in reproduction. The pollinator benefits from its adaptation of a particular flower with different traits to access nectar and pollen. These floral traits include odor, color, size, flower shape, reward type, amount, nectar composition, and timing of flowering. This plant pollinator interaction is known as pollination syndrome.
Did you know –
That tubular red flowers with a lot of nectar often attract birds.
Also, foul smelling flowers attract carrion flies or beetles.
Butterflies and moths can help spread pollen; however, they don’t have any specialized structures for collecting pollen.
Beetles pollinate more than 80% of all flowers – clusters of flowers are ideal because beetles are clumsy fliers.
While bees are drawn to plants on the blue, white, purple, and yellow color spectrum. Bees possessing hairs and other specialized anatomical structures that can readily collect and transfer pollen, making them an important plant pollinator. However, the honey bee, (Apis spp.) is the world’s top pollinator and is responsible for one-third of what we eat, yet they are just a small representative of all the bee species.
UF/IFAS Photo: Rodger Evans
FAMU/UF/IFAS Photo: Donna Arnold
Did you Know-
Everyone can contribute to pollinators by creating a home garden. Pollinators will make use of food and habitat anywhere it is found – roadsides, open fields, pastures, backyard flower gardens etc. One can be pollinator friendly by doing any of the activities below:
Plant an assortment of plants – varying in color, size and type to support a greater number and diversity of pollinators.
Plant nativeplants – as they are considered the best choice due to their abundance of nectar and pollen, among other benefits.
Use little or no pesticides – instead maintain a sustainable garden with the suitable plant species that will support natural beneficial insects—reducing the need for pest control.
Educate– others about the importance of pollinators.
Seasonal planting – Choose pollinator plants that bloom in spring, summer, and fall. Timing is crucial – plant flowers in clumps that bloom in early spring (emerging winter hibernation) and late summer (preparing for hibernation) so bees have adequate food supply.
Provide habitat or installbat boxes. Bats play a vital role in pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds.
UF/IFAS Photo: Tyler Jones
Helpful Hint: Did you know dandelions are the first food for bees emerging in the spring. Leave them in your yard and feed the bees!
Our landscapes are becoming important spaces for many animals to find food, water, and shelter. You can enjoy many beautiful plants while supplementing the diet of a favorite garden visitor, the hummingbird. Learn about a couple of nectar plants for hummingbirds and how to properly install your hummingbird feeder In the Garden with UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
University of Florida researchers maintain a constant vigilance on the potential for mosquito-borne illness concerns. UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory in Vero Beach tracks rainfall, groundwater levels, mosquito abundance, wild bird populations and virus transmission to animals including horses and sentinel chickens. When mosquito infection rates reach the levels that can infect humans, alerts are sent out. Through the Florida Department of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Health Alert Network issues advisories on a weekly basis to those counties at risk. Such an alert was issued for Gadsden, Polk and Walton Counties for the week of July 19-25, 2015. Unfortunately, the first 2015 confirmed human case of West Nile Virus illness in Florida occurred in Walton County shortly thereafter. It was just another reminder for people to take action to reduce their potential for mosquito development in their landscape.
With all the quick afternoon thunderstorms and frequent irrigation events, now is the time to check out where the water is collecting in your yard. The female Culex nigripalpus mosquitoes lay their eggs in temporary flood water pools; even very small ones such as pet watering bowls, bird baths and upturned Magnolia leaves. Dumping out the collection containers every couple of days can greatly reduce the population.
Becoming infected with West Nile Virus is not easy. Mosquitoes usually obtain the virus by feeding on infected wild birds, many of which have migrated from areas that have ongoing West Nile Virus outbreaks. Once the mosquito has drawn infected blood from the bird, the virus goes through a temperature-dependent incubation period within the mosquito. Then, when the infected mosquito “bites” a human or horse the virus mixed in saliva is released into the blood stream of the second host. West Nile Virus is not transmitted from one human to another. Nor is it transmitted from bird to human or from horse to human.
Thanks to a devoted set of researchers and government public health officials, here in Florida we are able to monitor mosquito-borne illnesses quickly and effectively. Additional partners, such as local veterinaries, sentinel bird stations and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) serve as reporters for virus population. Should an individual come across dead birds without an obvious cause, reporting them to the FWC at www.myfwc.com/bird/ is the best thing to do.
As for protecting yourself, here are a few pointers:
Stay indoors at dusk (peak mosquito biting time).
If you must be outside, wear long sleeves and pants and/or mosquito repellents containing the active ingredient DEET.
Repair torn door and window screens.
Remove unnecessary outside water sources.
Flush out water collected in outdoor containers every 3-4 days.
Disturb or remove leaf litter, including roof gutters and covers on outdoor equipment.
For additional information, contact your local Extension office about obtaining a free Florida Resident’s Guide to Mosquito Control.
