Special Note: This blog post is based on a presentation made by former PRI Watersheds and Wildlife Coordinator David Stein. Editing and Design by PRI PR & Marketing Coordinator Mike Kellner.

Pollinators in Iowa are disappearing at an alarming rate due to climate change, disappearing habitat, pesticide use, and disease.

Prior to European settlement, about 85% of Iowa was covered with prairies, grasslands, wetlands, and forests. Now, less than one-tenth of a percent of Iowa’s original prairies are left while the rest of its land has been plowed for cultivation, cleared for development, or otherwise altered creating a lack of habitat, food, and water for pollinators in our state. In a sense, Iowa’s once-lush landscape has become a virtual desert, where more often than not, there is no food or water for pollinators sometimes as far as the eye can see.

• Skippers 27 Species — (43% loss)
• Hairstreaks and Blues — 14 Species (44% loss)
• White, Yellow, Orange Butterflies — 6 Species (45% loss)
• Brush-Footed Butterflies — 25 Species (35% loss)
• Swallowtails — 4 Species (33% loss)
• Metalmark Butterflies —  0 Species (100% loss; not seen since 1930)

Yellow Bumble Bee