A buzz about pollinators

AUSTRALIAN Pollinator Week starts this Saturday, 12 November, with this year’s theme being ‘discover pollinators.’

The event will run until next Sunday, and founder Dr Megan Halcroft said the week-long event is about understanding the different types of pollinating insects and what they do for the environment.

“Everyone loves honeybees, and it’s now more than ever quite clear that they are really important in our food production system,” she said.

“But most people don’t realise the importance of the thousands of other pollinators in Australia… beetles, flies, butterflies and moths, as well as native bees, which have adapted over 120 million years to pollinate our native plants.

“We need to be teaching more people, especially younger people, about the important role all insects play in pollination.”

Australian Pollinator Week offerings include a webinar session, bee friendly gatherings, pollinator picnics, bee school, a photography competition, and workshops.

The event will also feature the inaugural Australian Pollinator Count monitoring program which looks at thousands of bee, fly, wasp and beetle species.

For more information or event registration, visit the australianpollinatorweek.org.au.