One way to help prevent the decline in bee, butterfly and other pollinating insect populations is to have homeowners alter their lawn-mowing habits, according to new research from ecologist Susannah Lerman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the USDA Forest Service.

Researchers suggest that instead of mowing lawns weekly, homeowners should instead take a “lazy lawn mower” attitude to invite bee habitats on suburban lawns by way of letting yard flowers, such as clover and dandelions, bloom there.

"Mowing less frequently is practical, economical and a timesaving alternative to replacing lawns or even planting pollinator gardens," said Lerman.

To reach this conclusion, Lerman and her team of researchers enlisted the help of 16 homeowners in Springfield, Massachusetts, between 2013 and 2014 that were willing to adopt one of three mowing schedules: weekly, every two weeks or every three weeks.

Considering a number of other factors, such as number of lawn flowers, grass height and bee abundance, researchers discovered that participants who mowed their lawns only once every three weeks had roughly 2.5 times more lawn flowers, while those participants on an every two week schedule had the greatest number but the lowest diversity of bees.

According to researcher Alix Contosta of the University of New Hampshire, "There is evidence that even though lawns are maintained to look uniform, they may support diverse plant communities and floral resources if the owners refrain from using herbicides to kill 'weeds' such as dandelions and clover."

"A decrease in pollinators, and insects in general, is a growing problem," said Sam Scheiner, National Science Foundation's (NSF) Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) program director. "This research shows that we all can help address this problem with a change in how we manage our lawns, and demonstrates that basic research directly contributes to societal needs."

The research findings are detailed in Biological Conservation.