I’m tired of being looked at like a criminal when I remove a dandelion. I want proof from biologists that removing our few dandelions from our land has a real impact on pollination…
Marc-Andre Lalonde
For Félix Leclerc, spring meant in particular toads singing of freedom, newborn babies crying in the stable and buds emerging from death.
If he had to rewrite theAnthem in spring nowadays, he might add, it’s also the season for dandelions that shouldn’t be cut.
In recent years, there have been many calls on this subject. The idea is to keep dandelions in your lawn as much as possible to give a boost to pollinating insects.
Recently, our columnist Boucar Diouf said he had signed a “non-aggression pact with the dandelion”.
He’s not the only biologist to think it’s a rich idea.
“Environmental awareness is personal. Everyone does what they can and wants to do in terms of environmental action,” says Pierre Giovenazzo, holder of the Leadership Chair in Bee Science Education at Université Laval.
He confirms, however, that efforts to avoid cutting dandelions are not in vain.
“Flower nectar and pollen are the only nutrient sources for pollinators (nectar = carbohydrates/pollen = proteins and lipids). In the spring, pollinator populations are growing and the abundance of dandelion flowers arrives just in time,” he explains.
Entomological information officer at the Montreal Insectarium, André-Philippe Drapeau Picard explains that “studies show that when we reduce the frequency of mowing, there is an increase in the abundance and diversity of both flowers and insects. pollinators”.
He cites a meta-analysis on this subject carried out by three researchers from Berlin, Anja Proske, Sophie Lokatis and Jens Rolff.
That said, not all dandelions are of equal importance. “Of course, if you live in a region, surrounded by forests and fields, four dandelions, it won’t change much”, illustrates André-Philippe Drapeau Picard.
On the other hand, there are other actions that can be taken to increase the diversity and quantity of food for pollinating insects. Like planting “nectariferous species, ideally native, that is to say that grow in Quebec,” suggests the expert.
Let’s take this opportunity to remind you how hard times are for insects. We are witnessing a simply catastrophic collapse of their populations.
The number of insects has dropped by half in the last 30 years on the planet, scientists have told us in recent years. It is great, the challenge that we must take up if we want to slow down their decline.