Pollination Stations

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does “pollination” mean?

   Pollination is how plants reproduce and make seeds. Pollination means moving pollen – the male reproductive cells – to the stigma so they can fertilize the female reproductive cells.

   Some plants are self-fertile; they can pollinate their own cells and create seeds all by themselves. Some plants need to receive pollen from another individual of the same species.

2. What is a pollinator?

   A pollinator is any animal that moves pollen around from the flower to flower, plant to plant.

   Some plants rely on wind for pollination. Many seasonal allergies are caused by windbourne pollen that ends up in our nose and eyes instead of a flower stigma. It takes a lot of energy for a plant to produce pollen, and that energy is wasted if the pollen ends up where it doesn’t belong, like in our eyes and nose. Instead of relying on wind for pollination, some plants rely on animals to pick up pollen and move it to another flower.

   Some pollinators, like bees, collect pollen intentionally to feed it to their young. Some pollinators collect pollen by accident while they are visiting flowers collecting nectar - a sugary liquid the flower produces to lure pollinators in. Most pollinators have some fuzz on their bodies for pollen to stick to.

3. Why are we talking about pollinators?

   Pollinators are an integral part of our ecosystem.  All living things have basic needs to survive: food, water, shelter, and space. Our bodies can’t create all these things for us, so we rely on other parts of the natural world to create them for us, and we in turn create these things for other living things. A balanced ecosystem will provide enough for all living things to meet their basic needs.

   Pollinators are required to create about 1/3 of all the food that humans eat, but their populations been shrinking. They face a number of threats that are reducing their populations worldwide and threatening the balance of our ecosystem. These threats include pesticides that poison them, not enough flowers for them to collect food, and no safe place to create shelters.

   If pollinators continue to disappear, our food production system could disappear with them.

4. What is a Pollination Station?

   A Pollination Station is a native wildflower garden that is part of the Pollination Station Program. These gardens exist on public land at sites that have youth programming. The gardens exist as safe places for pollinators to get food and shelter, and for people of all ages to learn about the role they play in our ecosystem.

5. Who takes care of Pollination Stations?

   Pollination Stations are coordinated by the Saint Paul Natural Resources Education Coordinator. Pollination Stations at recreation centers are also maintained by the Education Coordinator, while Stations at other non-park locations are maintained by partner organizations.

   Sometimes youth or community members will help with garden projects through public or partner programming. If anyone has concerns about the physical state of the garden, they should communicate with the Education Coordinator before modifying the garden in any way.

6. What plants are in the Pollination Station?

   The species in Pollination Stations vary by garden. Common plants in the gardens include:

   • Agastache foeniculum (anise hyssop)
   • Anemone canadensis (Canada anemone)
   • Aquilegia canadensis (columbine)
   • Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed)
   • Bouteloua curtupendula (side oats grama)
   • Bouteloua gracilis (blue grama)
   • Coreopsis palmata (prairie coreopsis)
   • Dalea candida (white prairie clover)
   • Dalea purpurea (purple prairie clover)
   • Echinacea angustifolia (narrow-leaved coneflower)
   • Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower)
   • Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
   • Geum triflorum (prarie smoke)
   • Elymus canadensis (Canada wild rye)
   • Liatris aspera (button blazing star)
   • Liatris lingulistylis (meadow blazing star)
   • Lupinus perennis (wild lupine)
   • Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot/bee balm)
   • Monarda punctata (spotted bee balm)
   • Penstemon digitalis (foxglove beardtongue)
   • Physostegia virginiana (obedient plant)
   • Polemonium reptans (Jacob's ladder)
   • Pycnanthemum virginianum (mountain mint)
   • Ratibida pinnata (yellow coneflower)
   • Rudbeckia fulgida (orange coneflower)
   • Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan)
   • Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem)
   • Solidago speciosa (showy goldenrod)
   • Sporobolis heterolepis (prairie dropseed)
   • Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (New England aster)
   • Verbena hastata (blue vervain)
   • Verbena stricta (hoary vervain)
   • Veronicastrum virginicum (Culver's root)
   • Zizia aurea (golden Alexanders)

7. What are some examples of pollinators that might visit the garden?

   Saint Paul’s pollinators include bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, and hummingbirds.

8. Wait, bees?! Aren’t bees dangerous?

   Bees - honeybees, bumblebees, and other types of bees - are not aggressive. They are interested in gathering nectar and pollen from flowers and bringing it back to their nest. Most have the ability to sting, but won’t unless they are trapped or similarly threatened. Honeybees will die if they sting, so they won’t sting just because someone is in their space.

   Yellow-jackets, hornets, and paper wasps are aggressive insects can sting people and are often called “bees.” They like to drink sugary liquids like soda, fruit juices, and other human snacks. It is easier for them to find what they are looking for by hanging around humans and visiting trash cans than by visiting flowers. Pollination Stations are not dangerous to people and will not attract more aggressive insects to the area.

9. How do I tell aggressive wasps and bees apart?

   Bees and wasps look different, but it’s important to note that while Minnesota bees are non-aggressive, we also have some non-aggressive wasps. Just because something looks like wasp doesn’t make it dangerous. The best way to tell if the insect could be dangerous is by their behavior.

   Both bees and wasps are insects, meaning they have 3 body parts, 6 legs, and wings as an adult. They are closely related, and also both have a skinny waist between their thorax and abdomen, two sets of wings, and jointed antennae. There are differences though:

   • Bees have hairs on their bodies to help collect pollen. Bumblebees and honeybees have hairs all over, while some other bees only have hair on their legs, head, or the bottom of their abdomens.
   • Wasps have hairless, shiny bodies that look hard like armor. Many wasps have have really long legs and waists. The long legs dangle as they fly, making them look very leggy.

   Both bees and wasps come in many colors. Because there are some black and yellow striped insects that fly and are dangerous, many other insects have evolved to look like them. This way harmless insects can trick other animals, like humans, into believing that they are dangerous too. Color pattern is not a reliable way to tell if an insect is dangerous.

   A harmless insect is just doing its own things. Sometimes people smell interesting and a bee or wasp wants to come check us out, and once they realize we have nothing to offer them, they will leave.

   An insect may become very interested in you or something you have - usually something with sugar: a can of pop, popsicle, juice box, jelly sandwich, piece of fruit, or similar. If an insect is trying to get something they want from us, and we are trying to stop them, they might become aggressive. Be careful around any wasp that is coming after food that you have, or has checked you out and won’t leave you alone.

   Sometimes we don’t know that a stinging insect is even there before it stings us. Be aware of places that aggressive wasps like to hang out, like near trash cans, and be careful when you are around them.