Protecting Pollinators on the Boston Harbor Islands

Pollinators come in many forms — feathered, painted or glassy wings, twirling antennae, iridescent shells, curling tongues, furry faces, even scaled tails. All do the same job: as they feed on pollen and nectar, they carry pollen from flower to flower, fertilizing virtually all flowering plants so they can set fruit and seed.

Without pollinators most flowering plants would die off, including 80% of the world's crop plants and more than 150 food crops in the United States. By keeping plant life alive and diverse, pollinators also help put oxygen into the air, remove carbon dioxide, prevent erosion and keep water clean.

A bee in flight. NPS Photo/E. Bernbaum.

In decline

Like many species, pollinators are declining. They face pesticide poisoning, disease made worse by human activity, crowding from invasive species, habitat loss, drought, wildfire, light pollution and other threats tied to climate change.

Counting bees on the islands

Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park works with researchers to track its pollinators:

• 2011 — the park finished a six-year survey of insects and other small animals with Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.
• 2015 — with the University of Massachusetts Boston, it piloted a study tracking the abundance and diversity of native bees across the islands.
• 2024 — with researchers from Tufts and Rutgers, it is continuing bee monitoring and setting up a new protocol for consistent data. Researchers with nets search the meadows and flower beds of Bumpkin, Grape, Peddocks and Spectacle islands to identify and count bees.

The studies help the Park Service track bee health, decide which plants to remove and restore, and judge what other protection is needed.

A pollinator rests on a leaf. NPS Photo/E. Bernbaum.

Restoring habitat

The park's Science & Stewardship team removes invasive plants that crowd out natives and protects native plants pollinators depend on, such as native milkweed. Milkweed is key for monarch butterflies, which have declined globally by more than 80% in the past two decades. Each fall monarchs stop on the islands during their migration from New England and Canada to southwestern Mexico, making the Harbor Islands a critical refuge. The park and its partners also guard pollinator habitat from development and teach people how to help. Volunteers can join the team at its Stewardship Saturdays.

A fuzzy pollinator on a leaf. NPS Photo/E. Bernbaum.

What you can do

• Plant native flowers that bloom at different times; they give pollinators food, nesting places and shelter from predators. Milkweed helps monarchs.
• Pull invasive plants such as swallow-wort, which monarchs mistake for milkweed but which is toxic to them.
• Use boot brushes where asked, to limit the spread of invasive species and fungi. White-nose syndrome, spread in part by people, has killed millions of bats since 2006.
• Avoid chemicals known to harm pollinators, such as neonicotinoids, a likely cause of honeybee colony collapse.

Sources

• Elle Bernbaum, Biological Science Technician: "Protecting Our Pollinators," National Park Service, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.