POLLINATORS

Honey bee collecting nectar from a blooming flower in Iowa

Bumble bee pollinating a purple coneflower

Tiny Creatures. Extraordinary Impact.

Every spring and summer, millions of tiny pollinators quietly go to work. Honey bees, native bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and even bats help flowering plants produce the fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and wildflowers that enrich our lives.

Without pollinators, our gardens would be less colorful, many of our favorite foods would become scarce, and ecosystems around the world would struggle to thrive. Nearly one out of every three bites of food we eat depends, at least in part, on animal pollination.

At Just Iowa Honey, our appreciation for pollinators became deeply personal when we began keeping honey bees in 2015. What started as a curiosity quickly grew into a passion as we learned how closely our food, our landscapes, and our lives are connected to these remarkable creatures.

One of our favorite memories came during our very first season of beekeeping. After placing honey bee colonies in our backyard, our strawberry patch produced nearly three times the fruit it had in previous years. It was a simple but unforgettable reminder of the incredible role pollinators play in our everyday lives.

Today, we continue to care for honey bees, but we've also developed a deep appreciation for Iowa's many native pollinators—from solitary bees and bumble bees to the beloved monarch butterfly. Every one of them has an important role to play.

Whether you're curious about honey bees, interested in creating a pollinator-friendly garden, or simply wondering why pollinators matter, we hope this page inspires you to look a little more closely at the amazing world buzzing and fluttering just outside your door.

Why Pollinators Matter

Every day, pollinators perform one of nature's most important jobs. As they travel from flower to flower searching for nectar and pollen, they transfer pollen between blossoms, allowing many plants to produce fruits, vegetables, seeds, and the next generation of flowers.

Some plants rely on wind or water for pollination, but thousands of flowering plants depend on insects and other animals to do the work. Honey bees are perhaps the best-known pollinators, but they are joined by an incredible team that includes native bees, butterflies, moths, beetles, flies, hummingbirds, and even bats.

Their work touches our lives every day. Apples, blueberries, pumpkins, melons, cherries, almonds, cucumbers, squash, coffee, chocolate, vanilla, and many other foods are available because pollinators help those plants reproduce. Even the colorful wildflowers that brighten Iowa's roadsides and prairies depend on pollination to produce the seeds that create future generations of plants.

Pollinators also support healthy ecosystems. Birds, mammals, and countless other wildlife depend on the fruits, seeds, and plants that pollinators help produce. Simply put, when pollinators thrive, entire ecosystems thrive.

Unfortunately, many pollinator populations have declined in recent decades. Habitat loss, pesticide use, parasites and diseases, climate change, and the spread of invasive plants have all placed additional pressure on these remarkable creatures. While the challenges are real, there is also good news: homeowners, gardeners, farmers, businesses, and communities can all play an important role in creating healthier habitats for pollinators.

Every flower planted, every patch of native habitat restored, and every thoughtful choice made in our own backyards can make a difference.

At Just Iowa Honey, we believe that understanding pollinators is the first step toward protecting them. The more we learn about these remarkable creatures, the more we appreciate how much they quietly do for all of us.

Honey Bees

Honey bees are among the world's most recognized pollinators—and for good reason. As they gather nectar and pollen to feed their colony, they also pollinate thousands of flowering plants that produce many of the fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds we enjoy every day.

Unlike most native bees, honey bees live in large, highly organized colonies that can contain 40,000 to 80,000 bees during the height of summer. Every colony has a single queen, thousands of female worker bees, and, during the warmer months, several hundred male drones. Each bee has a specific role, and together they function as one remarkable community.

Worker bees are the heart of the colony. During their short summer lives, they progress through a series of jobs—cleaning cells, feeding larvae, building honeycomb, guarding the hive, and eventually foraging for nectar, pollen, water, and tree resins. Their teamwork allows the colony to thrive.

While collecting nectar, honey bees unintentionally transfer pollen from flower to flower, making them incredibly valuable pollinators for both agriculture and backyard gardens. In fact, many crops produce larger harvests and better-quality fruit when visited by healthy populations of bees.

Honey bees also create one of nature's most extraordinary foods. After collecting nectar from flowers, they transform it into honey through a remarkable process of evaporation and natural enzymes before storing it in beeswax comb for the colony's future needs.

Like many pollinators, honey bees face significant challenges today. Habitat loss, parasites such as the Varroa mite, diseases, pesticide exposure, changing weather patterns, and reduced floral diversity all place stress on managed colonies. Beekeepers work year-round to help colonies remain healthy, but thriving honey bees also depend on healthy landscapes filled with diverse flowering plants.

At Just Iowa Honey, caring for honey bees has become much more than harvesting honey. Every season reminds us that healthy bees, healthy habitats, and healthy communities are closely connected.

Want to learn more? Visit our Bee Curious page to discover fascinating facts about honey bees, how they make honey, life inside the hive, and answers to many of our most frequently asked questions.

Native Bees

When most people think of bees, they picture a honey bee. Yet Iowa is home to hundreds of native bee species that have been quietly pollinating our wildflowers, trees, and crops for thousands of years—long before honey bees were introduced to North America.

Unlike honey bees, most native bees are solitary. Rather than living in large colonies with a queen and thousands of workers, each female builds and provisions her own nest. Some nest in the ground, others use hollow plant stems or tunnels in wood, and bumble bees often make their homes in abandoned rodent burrows or other sheltered spaces.

Although they don't produce honey, native bees are exceptional pollinators. In fact, many species are more efficient pollinators than honey bees for certain flowers because they have evolved alongside our native plants. Together, honey bees and native bees provide the pollination services that help sustain healthy gardens, farms, prairies, and forests.

One of the greatest challenges facing native bees is the loss of suitable habitat. As natural areas disappear, so do the nesting sites and diverse flowering plants they need to survive. Clean landscapes aren't always healthy landscapes for pollinators. A patch of bare soil, a hollow stem left standing through winter, or a variety of native wildflowers can provide critical habitat for these important insects.

The good news is that native bees don't ask for much. By planting a variety of native flowers that bloom from spring through fall, reducing pesticide use, and preserving nesting habitat, each of us can help support these remarkable pollinators.

At Just Iowa Honey, we've learned that protecting pollinators means caring for all bees—not just honey bees. Every native bee that visits a flower is helping keep Iowa's landscapes healthy, diverse, and beautiful.

Want to create a more pollinator-friendly yard? Visit our Make a Difference page for simple ideas that can make a lasting impact.

Monarch Butterflies

Few insects capture our imagination quite like the monarch butterfly. With its brilliant orange and black wings, the monarch is one of North America's most recognizable pollinators—and one of its most remarkable travelers.

Each fall, millions of monarchs begin an extraordinary migration, with many traveling more than 2,000 miles to overwintering sites in the mountains of central Mexico. Even more amazing, the butterflies making the journey have never been there before. Their ability to navigate such an incredible distance remains one of nature's greatest mysteries.

Monarchs depend on two essential types of plants throughout their lives. Milkweed serves as the only host plant where females lay their eggs and where caterpillars feed and grow. Without milkweed, monarchs cannot complete their life cycle. As adults, monarchs rely on a wide variety of nectar-producing flowers to fuel their migration and provide the energy they need throughout the growing season.

Unfortunately, monarch populations have declined significantly over the past several decades. Habitat loss, reduced milkweed, widespread herbicide use, development, and changing weather patterns have all contributed to fewer monarchs across North America.

Fortunately, each of us can help. Planting native milkweed, adding nectar-rich flowers that bloom from spring through fall, and reducing pesticide use can provide valuable habitat for monarchs and many other pollinators. Even a small garden can become an important stop along their incredible journey.

One important note: not all milkweed is the same. While tropical milkweed is widely sold in garden centers, it is not native to Iowa and can interfere with the monarch's natural migration if left growing into the fall. Whenever possible, choose milkweed species native to your region to provide the healthiest habitat for monarchs.

At Just Iowa Honey, we've come to appreciate that every monarch visiting a flower is part of a much larger story—one that stretches across an entire continent. By creating pollinator-friendly landscapes, we can all play a small part in helping this remarkable migration continue for future generations.

Monarch Caterpillar

Migration

Adult

Pupa

Egg

How You Can Help

Pollinators need healthy habitats, diverse flowers, and places to nest. The encouraging news is that even small changes in our own backyards can make a meaningful difference.

Whether you have a few flower pots on a patio or several acres of land, every pollinator-friendly choice helps support honey bees, native bees, monarch butterflies, and countless other beneficial insects.

Every flower planted, every patch of habitat restored, and every pollinator-friendly choice helps create a healthier future for the remarkable creatures that keep our landscapes—and our food supply—growing.

Ready to get started?

Visit our Make a Difference page for practical ideas on creating pollinator habitat, choosing native plants, supporting monarchs, and making your yard a welcoming place for pollinators.

➡ Explore the Make a Difference Guide

Additional Resources

Our love of pollinators has grown through years of beekeeping, gardening, and learning from outstanding educational organizations. If you'd like to explore these topics in greater depth, we encourage you to visit these trusted resources:

U.S. National Park Service – Pollinator conservation, native habitats, and educational resources.
Pollinator Partnership – Information about pollinators, native plants, and creating pollinator-friendly landscapes.
National Honey Board – Honey bee education, honey production, and pollination.
Monarch Joint Venture – Monarch butterfly conservation, migration, and habitat restoration.
Monarch Watch – Monarch migration, tagging programs, and milkweed information.
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation – Conservation resources for native bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.