Colorado Pollinator Network Fundraiser

75% Off All Styles!  Design Limited to quantities on hand.

For Women's Slim Fit Tee:  Please order one size larger than normal, as these slim fits run small in size.

Artist: Craig Blackhill

This design shows a Western Bumble Bee (Bombus occidentalis) feeding and gathering pollen on a blanket flower (gaillardia). The Colorado Pollinator Network's logo is printed on the sleeve. Pollinators and Plants = Partners. Plants offer nectar and pollen to pollinators, and pollinators carry the pollen to other plants, allowing the plants to develop seeds and reproduce. 1/3 or our food comes from pollinated crops. Apples, blueberries, strawberries, pumpkins, and almonds are among the 100 food crops that need pollinators. 2/3 of the world's crop species depend on pollinators. 85% of flowering plants depend on pollinators. 25% of the birds and many mammals (including bears and voles!) depend on seeds and fruits of from plants pollinated by insects. Bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, wasps, birds, and bats pollinate plants.

Bumble Bees bite on flowers and vibrate their wings, making a BUZZ that releases the flower's pollen. Bees often have special hairs on their legs to gather the pollen. If you look closely, you can sometimes find bright gold clumps of pollen on their rear legs. Bumble Bees pollinate many wild plants along with tomatoes, peppers, cranberries, and many other crops. 28% of bumble bee populations have declined. Causes include diseases and pests spread from commercial bee operations, habitat loss to agriculture and urban development, insecticide use by US Forest Service, herbicide use, grazing of native plants, and introduced invasive plant species. 19% of butterflies are at risk of extinction. There is a 75% decline in flying insect total mass over the last 27 years. Sometimes there is a spider camouflaged to blend in with the yellow and red center of the gaillardia blanket flowers. These spiders can catch bees and beetles that come to the flower's center. There are summer butterfly counts where you can go and find and count butterflies to see if the populations are changing from year to year.
Solutions: grow pollinator friendly flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides, spread the word, No Mow May, Leave the Leaves ( for bees, butterflies, and beetles)
(from Xerces Society)

Join and support pollinator protection groups:

People and Pollinators Action Network

Colorado Pollinator Network

Xerces Society

Butterfly Pavilion

Denver Botanic Gardens

CU Museum of Natural History

Denver Audubon

CSU Extension