Pollinators are the backbone of the food webs that humans, and nearly every animal on earth, are part of. Scientists estimate that 87% of flowering plant species and many of the leading global food crops rely on pollinators to produce seeds. And here in Montana, native and nonnative pollinators forage on almost 40 of the agricultural crop species grown in Montana, according to the USDA.
June is Pollinator Month and, in Central Montana at least, it may as well be wildflower month, too. Flowers – and native wildflowers in particular – provide essential nutrition for pollinators. That includes well-known insect pollinators like bees and butterflies, less charismatic bugs like moths, flies and beetles, as well as the six species of hummingbirds found in our state.