Pollinators on the Decline in North Dakota

As the number of pollinators continues to decline, North Dakota Game and Fish says this could be an issue in the long run. 

You’re probably familiar with honey bees, but other key pollinators have also drastically declined, like the monarch butterfly, which has dropped 90 percent over the years. 

Conservation Biologist Elisha Mueller says there are a number of reasons for the drastic drop things like a change of landscape, lost habitats and the usage of pesticides. 

Mueller says pollinators are important to the state’s agriculture as crops like sunflower, canola and even soybeans rely on pollination. 

“The recent studies have shown that our crops are about 30 percent at least pollinated by our native wild species and so even beyond honey bees, if we lost those wild native bees we would lose about 30 percent of our crops. That would be a pretty big loss if you think about it,” said Muller. 

Mueller says everybody can do something to help, even just having flowers in your backyard or on your balcony can make a difference. 

Source: https://www.kxnet.com/news/top-stories/pollinators-on-the-decline-in-north-dakota/