Nature's Little Helpers
Nature is not only a place of beauty and recreation but also a vital ecosystem that supports our survival. Flowers, insects, mites, and beneficial fungi and bacteria all play indispensable roles in producing healthy, safe food for humanity. These remarkable organisms—fondly called Nature’s Little Helpers—have been working tirelessly to keep our plates full.
It is crucial to educate people about the vital contributions of bumblebees, parasitic wasps, predatory mites, and beneficial microorganisms in maintaining plant health. This understanding highlights the importance of avoiding chemical pesticides that harm these invaluable helpers and protecting the soil in.
which many of them thrive. By supporting these natural allies, we can ensure the production of delicious, healthy fruits and vegetables while safeguarding the well-being of people and the planet.
Pest control
Your parents probably tell you to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables because they are healthy for you. But there are also other creatures that like to eat from them. If you, for example, grow tomatoes in your garden, lots of danger lurks in-between those beautiful plants full of tomatoes! Aphids have set their sights on the tasty, juicy leaves of the tomato plants. Caterpillars eat big holes in the leaves. Spider mites suck the sap out of the leaves, turning the leaves yellow. The tomatoes then cannot grow so well, and the plant can even die.
Natural enemies or beneficial organisms
They often measure no more than a millimetre in length, but they are absolutely invaluable. Natural enemies such as predatory mites and parasitic wasps engage in battles on a daily basis with common pests. These beneficial organisms can also be targeted and released into crops in horticultural farms, among others. We call this ‘biological crop protection’.
One example of a beneficial organism is one you probably already know: the ladybird. A ladybird eats pests like aphids. Another natural enemy is the parasitic wasp. It might sound a bit scary, but this little insect is so small that you can hardly see it. The parasitic wasp kills the aphid in a different way. The female wasp has a kind of drill at the end of her body that she uses to make a hole in the aphid. She lays an egg inside, and when the egg hatches, the larva starts eating the aphid from the inside, causing the aphid to die and the larva develops into a pupa. From the pupa a new parasitic wasp emerges, which itself goes hunting for other aphids.
Many poisons do not work that well anymore in the longer term as the pests develop resistance. The frequent use of poison is also not good for the growth and productivity of plants. If for instance a grower suffers from spider mites in his crop, he may choose to release predatory mites. The predatory mites seek out the spider mites, catch them, and eat them. In this natural way, fruits and vegetables can grow healthily and safely, and that feels good! And, of course, they are delicious and healthy for you too!
How can you help?
Natural enemies can help to keep pests under control when they are well taken care of. Therefore, it is important not to use poison as this kills these beneficial organisms. Instead help them by leaving messy areas in the garden, put an insect hotel in the garden where they can find shelter, or plant a variety of (native) flowers so they can find food.
Pollinators
Ever wondered how a flower turns into a fruit? This requires pollination of the flower. Some insects play avery important role in this process. They go from flower to flower looking for food, whereby pollen sticks to their bodies. This way they transport pollen from one flower to the pistil of another, and that is a very useful job! Without pollination, flowers will not grow into beautiful fruits.
Bees and flies
Honeybees are the best-known pollinators. They collect pollen and nectar. Beekeepers keep them in hives where they use the pollen to feed their larvae and turn the nectar into honey. Other well-known pollinators are bumblebees. They are used by growers in greenhouses and orchards to pollinate, for example, tomatoes, strawberries and cherries. In nature, there are many other different insects that play an important role in pollination, including other types of bees and even flies. Therefore, we need to protect them carefully!
How can you help?
To protect pollinators you should not use poison to control pests, as often this kills not only the pest itself but also these beneficial insects. You can also help pollinators by making sure there are enough flowers around they can feed on: don’t remove flowering weeds and plant or sow flowers they like. To help them survive you can offer them extra hiding places by leaving messy areas in the garden or put up an ‘insect hotel’.
Healthy soils
Soil life consists of organisms such as earthworms, woodlice and beneficial fungi that live together in an underground ecosystem. When that system functions well, it promotes the growth and resilience of the plant.
Soil life protects plants
You might not see much of it, but underground, around the roots of the plant, miniscule organisms such as fungi are fighting over food. Besides the bad organisms (called pathogens) which can cause diseases, there are good organisms that work together in an ecosystem with the roots of the plant. They provide the plant with nutrients and protect it against diseases.
For instance, there are beneficial fungi that grow in step with the roots of the plant and give pathogenic fungi no opportunity to strike. Intruders are surrounded and killed. Such beneficial fungi can also be added by us to the soil to protect the plants.
Woodlice eat dead leaves and return nutrients to the soil through their poop. Worms do that too, but also create tunnels in the soil, allowing rainwater to drain well into the soil. Microorganisms such as fungi also help break down dead leaves, making nutrients available to plants.
How can you help?
You can help to create a healthy soil life by not disturbing the soil too much; avoid digging/turning over the soil. Protect creatures living on the soil by not using poison and by covering the ground with plant materials to provide shelter. Make your own compost from food scraps and green litter from your garden and do not use chemical fertilisers.
A bumblebee or a bee?
If you sit in a garden with flowers in the summer, you will hear buzzing all around you. But is this a bumblebee or a bee? In many ways, bumblebees and bees are similar, as they are related. Bumblebees and bees have six legs, five eyes, four wings, three body parts, two antennae and one stinger. But there are also differences.
A bumblebee is larger than a honeybee and has more hairs, which makes it look even bigger.
Bumblebees are not aggressive. The females can sting, but almost never do so. The bumblebee's sting does not remain in the skin after a sting like the honeybee's. A bumblebee does not die after a sting and can use the same sting over and over again, just like wasps.
A bumblebee lives in a colony with one queen and up to 500 other workers. A bee colony also has one queen, but 50,000 workers. A bumblebee queen does not lay her eggs in a honeycomb. She does so in small pots that she builds from pollen.
Graceful dancers vs. lonely eaters
Bees can tell each other where to find good food. They perform a dance at the entrance to their nest that indicates the direction in which the others should look for food. Bumblebees often fly alone. They tend to alternate between different flowers and do not tell each other where they found the food.
Useful helpers
Bees and bumblebees are important for pollinating plants. They transfer pollen from one flower to the pistil of another. They do very useful work!
Bees like to hang out in fruit trees. Compared to bees, bumblebees are better able to withstand low temperatures and low light. They also work faster. That is why they are used in fruit cultivation as a supplement to honeybees.
Watch a video of bumblebees pollinating blueberries here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv_xncrZfCg
Did you know that
… there are almost 30 different species of bumblebee in the Netherlands?
… a bumblebee often has 200 sisters but only a few brothers?
... a bumblebee has a queen, but no king?...
... a queen can sleep for almost 200 nights in a row?...
... a bumblebee actually cannot fly because it is too heavy according to the laws of nature?...
... scientists have been studying this issue for years?...
... a bumblebee uses a special flying technique to be able to fly?
... a bumblebee can fly up to 5 kilometers and still find its way back?...
... a bumblebee will also go outside when it is raining and blowing very hard?...
... a bumblebee can visit a few thousand flowers a day?...
... the females do all the work and the males are only useful for mating?
… bumblebees can collect pollen up to 60% of their body weight?
… bumblebees are used in more than 30 other crops besides tomatoes?
… only the females can sting but rarely do so?
… bumblebees often serve as inspiration for artistic excesses?