Backyard Habitat by Celia Vuocolo, Piedmont Environmental Council

Understanding and CreatingWildlife Habitat

C E L I A V U O C O L O

S U S T A I N A B L E H A B I T A T P R O G R A M A S S I S T A N T

P I E D M O N T E N V I R O N M E N T A L C O U N C I L

“For the first time in its history, gardening has taken

on a role that transcends the needs of the gardener.

Gardeners have become important players in the

management of our nation’s wildlife. It is now within

the power of individual gardeners to do something

that we all dream of doing: to make a difference.”

~Douglas Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home

Today’s Outcome

Piedmont Environmental Council

Protecting Open Space in the Piedmont

• Land Conservation

• Conservation Easements

• Land Use

• Transportation solutions

• Community Planning

• Energy

• Promoting Rural Economies and Ag

•Buy Fresh Buy Local guide

• Restoring Wildlife Habitat….

9 County region: Fauquier, Albemarle, Clarke, Loudoun, Orange, Madison, Greene, Rappahannock, Culpeper

Sustainable Habitat Program

Site Visits* Outreach* Land Management* Watershed Projects* Conservation Partnering*

View your property as a whole.

And then take a look at what’s around you.

Corridors

Prioritizing Projects

Pick an area of your property that:

needs the most help

You feel inspired to change

Or….

Invasive Plant Infestations

Transitional Areas

Areas of high ecological value

Reconnecting Habitat (grasslands, forest, corridors)

Food

Year round cover and food sources

Food

Artificial supplements vs. Natural Forage

Artificial Supplements vs. Natural Forage

Larval Host Plants

Seeds and Berries

Providing Food Sources Year round

Example: the Black-capped Chickadee

Winter diet: 50% insect, 50% seed/berries

Summer diet: 80% insect (particularly caterpillars)

One pair brings 390-570 caterpillars per day to their young.

This is typical of many species:

60%-80% of a Hummingbird’s

diet is insects!

25% of a Red Fox’s diet is insects!

Cover

Protection

Weather

Predation

Nesting Sites

Ground Nesters

Cavity Nesters

Native evergreens:

• Provide rear-round cover for birds

• Native conifers serve as host plants

Other types of cover

Other types of cover

Nest Structures

Cavity Nesters:

Certain songbird species, woodpeckers, squirrels, owls, blue orchard mason bees, leaf cutter bees, insects.

Ground nesters:

Bumble bees, some turtles, a few songbirds (directly on the ground), snakes, some small mammals, other native bees, insects.

Artificial Nesting Sites vs. Natural Structures

Snags

Ground Nesters

Aquatic Habitats

The key is vegetative cover.

Amphibian life zone

Layers

Applying the Concepts: Landscaping for Pollinators

Honeybees vs. Native bees

Honey bees:

Not native to U.S.

Suffering from CCD

Colonial

Hives easily managed and transported

Some competition for floral resources with other bee species

Heavily relied upon for crop pollination

Honeybees vs. Native bees

Native bees4000 different species (variety of sizes,

pollination techniques, floral preferences, life cycles)

Honeybees are transmitting mites and disease to bumble bees

Some are more efficient crop pollinators than honeybees!

Most are solitary

Nest in ground or tube-like structures

Bumble Bees

Generalist foragers

Only truly social native bee, but colony is seasonal.

Ground nesters

“Buzz Pollination” required by some crops (tomatoes, peppers, cranberries)

Can handle cooler temps: Some of the earliest & latest bees: February- November!

Forage earlier and later in the day than honeybees

Bumblebees on average visit twice as many flowers per minute as compared to honeybees.

Some plants rely on bumble bees for pollination

bumble bee pollinating bottle gentian

Mason Bees & Leaf Cutter Bees

Osmia spp. and Megachile spp.

Solitary bees- nest in tubes, reeds, dead branches

Osmia spp. are orchard pollinators. Osmia lignaria is the only native bee managed for in agriculture.

Emerge in early spring, coincides with flowering peach and apple trees AND eastern native trees.

Research has shown that Osmia is more efficient at pollination than honeybees!

Pollinators are a big deal!

70% of all flowering plant species on the planet rely on pollinators to reproduce

30% of foods and beverages are the direct result of insect pollination.

In 2010, insect pollination contributed $29 billion to farm income in the U.S.

Pollinator Habitat Needs

FOOD

Early Spring, Spring- Summer, Late Fall

Natives vs. Traditional Garden Plants

Clustering 3 or more of the same plant together

Blue, white, yellow flowers- but some have UV patterns!!

Selecting pollinator powerhouse plants (not just perennials!)

Pollinator Habitat Needs

COVER

NESTING SITES

Ground nesting bees vs. Cavity nesting bees

Observe where the bees go!

Native bee houses (southerly exposure)

Beetles, ants, flies (leaf piles, bush piles, compost)

Leave dead stems standing!

SHRUBBY EDGES & HEDGEROWS

Valuable pollinator habitat!

Questions?

Celia Vuocolo

Sustainable Habitat Program Assistant

Piedmont Environmental Council

[email protected]

540-347-2334