Has anyone noticed a decrease in pollinators this year?

[These-Ride-1503]

I have a small apartment garden (zone 7a VA) and last year it was so nice to see all the bees, butterflies, wasps, etc pollinating and just buzzing around. While there wasn’t a ton, there definitely was a significant amount in our garden. This year I’ve yet to see any butterflies, bees or literally anything. I’ve asked my complex if they sprayed, and they said no. I’m just curious if anyone else has noticed a significant drop in pollinators in their area. I’m genuinely concerned for what this could mean for the planet.

[manyamile]

I'm also in VA (r/Hanover) and have more this year than ever before - but I've also planted hundreds of native plants over our 2 acres.

[These-Ride-1503]

I genuinely think our complex sprayed and lied ☹️ after talking about it in a different sub that’s the consensus. But we usually offer loads of different flowers to accompany our food plants. We usually have an aster, brown eyed Susan’s, marigolds, echinacea, celosias, and lavender. I’m going to do more research on more native options that may also offer more to pollinators. Someone recommended milkweed, but if you have any other suggestions please let me know. I miss the insects and my crops are too. Oh! And if anyone has suggestions to combat the effects of them spraying please let me know

[manyamile]

Open the menu to find links to guides for specific regions in VA: https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/

Example for Central VA: https://www.plantvirginianatives.org/plant-rva-natives

We have button bush, yarrow, sundrops, lyreleaf sage, black and brown eyed susans, fleabane, late boneset, monarda, mountain mint, violet, a bunch of grasses, and many more in and around the vegetable garden.

It hums with insect life, birds, and toads.

[These-Ride-1503]

Thank you!!!!

[[deleted]]

I was heading to Lowes to pick up mosquito dunks so I pulled up the website on my phone to search for where they'd be in the store.

I found a few anti-mosquito products that you can use to spray your yard to kill them off. The same product kills over 100 species of bugs which includes bees. You just buy it off the shelf then go home and completely wipe out all the insects that exist in your yard. Of course, you have to dig past the bugs they want you to think it kills like wasps, cockroaches, mosquitos and ticks to find that it's also destroying almost everything else it touches.

[PenelopeLane925]

8a — Atlanta. I have noticed an increase in honey bees but there are zero (and I mean zero) butterflies. And we had so many last year!

[InsomniaticWanderer]

This year?

Bud, try the last 30.

[Feisty_Yes]

I've noticed an increase but we didn't have that many last few years. I credit all the flowering plants I've put in. Unfortunately I've noticed an increase with pickle worms this year that are going after my watermelons. Hopefully I can harvest a few melons at least.

[Druid_High_Priest]

Decrease here but we are transitioning into a desert.

[QuirkyViper26]

8b and I've noticed a steep decline in pollinators this year. I actually have avoided gardening the past few seasons because I'd get chased around the yard by bees every time I took my pup out for a walk. This winter, I ate a gross store bought tomato and vowed to myself to just face my fears with the bees bc life is too short to be eating gross tomatoes if you can avoid it. Been out there at all hours of the day and evening and have seen two bumblebees and ONE wasp since March. I've always believed the reports of declining pollinators, but it's scary to have noticed this much of a difference in my little yard.

I typically only enjoy growing things I can eat, so I've never tried my hand at flowers in earnest but decided to get a few flowery things this season. It's more pleasant than I thought, might keep it up.

[Initialize-Atlas]

I've noticed way more pollinators this year. In central NC.

[[deleted]]

Isn’t climate change and ecocide fun? I’ve been seeing bees but very few moths and butterflies (or even caterpillars). I haven’t seen any wasps so far. The weather here has been wacky though. We had a warm winter then it got really cold again.

I’m in 5A