From butterflies to ants, these and other pollinators have an outsized impact on Georgia's economy

Pollinators like bees and butterflies have more of an economic impact on agriculture in Georgia than many might realize, experts say.  

The annual value of pollination to Georgia is more than $360 million, according to an economic impact study conducted in 2014 by the University of Georgia.

“We know that pollination in the state of Georgia; to say it's important is an understatement,” said Becky Griffin, pollinator health associate at UGA's College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. “We grow a lot of crops in Georgia like watermelon and cucumbers that require pollination. You can’t make a watermelon without moving pollen from one flower to another flower. We also grow a lot of crops that are improved by increased visits from pollinators like strawberries and peppers.”

Griffin said a pollinator is something that moves pollen from the male part of a flower to the female part of a flower. Top pollinators include bees, wasps, birds, butterflies, ants, beetles, bats and moths, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

“A lot of people immediately think of honey bees as pollinators,” said Griffin. “We have over 4,000 native bees in North America that are extremely important pollinators, especially bumble bees. But flies are pollinators that we see in a garden. Wasps are pollinators, butterflies. We've got some beetles that actually do some pollinating. These are insect pollinators. Of course, hummingbirds are pollinators as well.”

What happens after pollination?

“After pollination the next step is fertilization,” said Griffin. “In order to get the plant to make seeds or fruiting bodies, fertilization needs to happen. So the result of pollen going to the right place and fertilization happening is generally a seed.”

Griffin said supporting pollinators is key to protecting the ecosystem.

“Pollinating insects come in different shapes and sizes,” she said. “Having a diverse flower garden can attract pollinators. Avoiding insecticides which can hurt pollinators is another thing. If people are really interested in pollinators they can learn about the nesting habits of these insects and provide nesting materials.”

Sharon P. Kane, agribusiness and community development economist at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, collaborated on the Mapping Economic Value of Pollinators project.

“We used a method based on work done by previous researchers to calculate the economic importance of pollinators with respect to the agricultural crops measured in the Georgia Farm Gate Value Report,” said Kane. “I performed the economic analysis, summarized from a spatial viewpoint (value for each county), and created the graphic map.”

Both Kane and Griffin worked on the mapping project during the summer. They created a heat map interactive graphic demonstrating the spatial variation across Georgia. 

“As part of the work, we have created a template for updating the figures on a regular basis to provide to stakeholders interested in the topic," she said. 

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What do the numbers say?

“The calculations are performed by applying a figure that describes the dependence upon pollinators for various agricultural commodities,” said Kane. “The results show that pollination brings value all across the state of Georgia, coming in at over $635 million (2021). Though the method can't capture all potential benefits from pollination, it's a great starting point for informing stakeholders of the economic importance.”

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with several funders and Journalism Funding Funding Partners.

Erica Van Buren is the climate change reporter for The Augusta Chronicle, part of the USA TODAY Network. Connect with her at EVanBuren@gannett.com or on X: @EricaVanBuren32.