How to protect insects: 7 measures and Canary Island plants

In our previous article we explained why insects are essential: they pollinate, keep the soil fertile and feed other animals. Now let’s get practical: what each of us can do to protect them, and what we do on our farm in Lanzarote.

7 ways to protect insects

1. Use fewer pesticides. Many of them can’t tell a pest from a bee. The less they are used on crops, in gardens and at home, the better.
2. Plant native flowers and plants. Local species give food and shelter to the insects of the area, which are adapted to them.
3. Protect their habitats. Forests, meadows and wetlands, but also roadside verges or a corner of the garden left a little wild.
4. Provide insect shelters. An insect hotel, or simply a pile of branches and stones, gives them a safe place to live and breed.
5. Reduce artificial light at night. Lights disorient many nocturnal insects. Switching off the ones you don’t need already helps.
6. Support local beekeepers. Buying local honey helps keep healthy hives in your area.
7. Use fewer chemical fertilisers. They can harm insects and other living things in the soil. Compost is a good alternative.

What we do at CabanaLanz

On our farm in San Bartolomé we put these ideas into practice:

• We don’t use pesticides.
• We plant Canary Island species that attract bees and butterflies (you’ll find some below).
• We have reduced artificial light at night to a minimum.
• We use no chemical fertilisers in our organic vegetable gardens.

Canary Island plants that help pollinators

Before planting, we researched which island plants are best for insects. Here are some of them:

• Sweet tabaiba: a shrub of low, dry and sunny areas, also near the coast. Its small greenish-yellow flowers attract bees and other pollinators.
• Tajinastes (viper’s bugloss): they form large spikes of blue, white or red flowers, depending on the species. The most famous, the red tajinaste, grows on the peaks of Tenerife, but there are coastal and mid-altitude species too. They are among bees’ favourite plants.
• Sea lavender (siempreviva): a plant of coasts and rocky areas, with long-lasting violet flowers.
• Canary Island spurge (cardón): although it looks like one, it is not a cactus but a spurge endemic to the Canary Islands. It grows in low, dry areas and its small reddish flowers attract many insects.
• Verode: a shrub of low, dry and rocky areas, with narrow leaves and creamy-white flowers visited by bees and butterflies.
• Bejeque: a plant with fleshy leaves in rosettes that grows on rocks and walls. Its flowers can be yellow, white or pink, depending on the species.
• White broom (retama blanca): a shrub of dry areas that fills with very fragrant white flowers in late winter and spring.

Planting native species in a garden or on a terrace is one of the easiest ways to give insects food and shelter and to look after the islands’ nature.

Frequently asked questions

Which Canary Island plants attract bees?

Tajinastes, tabaiba, verode and white broom are some of the Canary Island species most visited by bees and other pollinators.

How can I help insects at home?

Avoid pesticides, plant native species, leave a corner with branches or stones as a shelter and switch off outdoor lights you don’t need.

Each of us can do something for insects. What do you do, or what would you like to start doing?