Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants
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Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants Rufous Hummingbird feeding on Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) Native Plant and Pollinator Why Should We Care? Gardening Guide Many of us enjoy the beauty of flowers in our Keystone Species backyard and community gardens. Growing native When a bumble bee feeds on the nectar and pollen of plants adds beauty and important habitats for huckleberry flowers, it pollinates the flowers, which will wildlife, especially for pollinators. Even a small produce fruit eaten by songbirds, grizzly bears, and backyard garden can make a big difference. Gardening dozens of other animals, including humans. We call connects us to nature and helps us better understand the bumble bee and other pollinators keystone species how nature works. This guide will help you create a because they are species upon which others depend. Insects and other pollinator-friendly garden. Pollinators are vital to maintaining healthy animals pollinate ecosystems. They are essential for plant reproduction, one-third of the What is pollination? food we eat – all and produce genetic diversity in the plants they pollinate. What do Pollination is the process of moving pollen from one kinds of fruits, hummingbirds, The more diverse plants are, the better they can weather flower to another of the same species, which produces vegetables, grains, butterflies and changes in the environment. nuts, and beans. bees have in fertile seeds. Almost all flowering plants need to be Even coffee and common? pollinated. Some plants are pollinated by wind or water, Best of all, pollinators such as hummingbirds, bees, chocolate! The They all pollinate and some are even self-pollinating. However, most and butterflies are beautiful and fascinating. economic value of insect pollination flowering plants. flowering plants depend on bees, Pollinators need our help. worldwide has butterflies, and other animals been estimated at for pollination. Biologists fear several butterfly and bumble bee $217 billion. species have disappeared from parts of their range, Why use native plants in your garden? including the once common western bumble bee. Pollinators have evolved with native Why are pollinators in trouble? It appears plants, which are best adapted to the local that habitat loss and pesticide growing season, climate, and soils. Most poisoning account for much of pollinators feed on specific plant species — the population declines. hummingbirds sip nectar from long, We can do our part to tubular honeysuckle flowers, while green support pollinators by sweat bees prefer more open-faced sunflowers. creating pollinator- Non-native plants may not provide pollinators with friendly gardens and enough nectar or pollen, or may be inedible to protecting wildlife butterfly or moth caterpillars. habitat. Western Bumble Bee on Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) Half-black Bumble Bee and penstemon flower 1 2 Native Plant and Pollinator Why Should We Care? Gardening Guide Many of us enjoy the beauty of flowers in our Keystone Species backyard and community gardens. Growing native When a bumble bee feeds on the nectar and pollen of plants adds beauty and important habitats for huckleberry flowers, it pollinates the flowers, which will wildlife, especially for pollinators. Even a small produce fruit eaten by songbirds, grizzly bears, and backyard garden can make a big difference. Gardening dozens of other animals, including humans. We call connects us to nature and helps us better understand the bumble bee and other pollinators keystone species how nature works. This guide will help you create a because they are species upon which others depend. Insects and other pollinator-friendly garden. Pollinators are vital to maintaining healthy animals pollinate ecosystems. They are essential for plant reproduction, one-third of the What is pollination? food we eat – all and produce genetic diversity in the plants they pollinate. What do Pollination is the process of moving pollen from one kinds of fruits, hummingbirds, The more diverse plants are, the better they can weather flower to another of the same species, which produces vegetables, grains, butterflies and changes in the environment. nuts, and beans. bees have in fertile seeds. Almost all flowering plants need to be Even coffee and common? pollinated. Some plants are pollinated by wind or water, Best of all, pollinators such as hummingbirds, bees, chocolate! The They all pollinate and some are even self-pollinating. However, most and butterflies are beautiful and fascinating. economic value of insect pollination flowering plants. flowering plants depend on bees, Pollinators need our help. worldwide has butterflies, and other animals been estimated at for pollination. Biologists fear several butterfly and bumble bee $217 billion. species have disappeared from parts of their range, Why use native plants in your garden? including the once common western bumble bee. Pollinators have evolved with native Why are pollinators in trouble? It appears plants, which are best adapted to the local that habitat loss and pesticide growing season, climate, and soils. Most poisoning account for much of pollinators feed on specific plant species — the population declines. hummingbirds sip nectar from long, We can do our part to tubular honeysuckle flowers, while green support pollinators by sweat bees prefer more open-faced sunflowers. creating pollinator- Non-native plants may not provide pollinators with friendly gardens and enough nectar or pollen, or may be inedible to protecting wildlife butterfly or moth caterpillars. habitat. Western Bumble Bee on Maximilian Sunflower (Helianthus maximiliani) Half-black Bumble Bee and penstemon flower 1 2 Who Are Our Pollinators? Social Bees Bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, beetles, Bumble Bee (Bombus) wasps and even flies pollinate flowers, but bee species There are forty-seven species of bumble bees in Tongue lengths pollinate flowers more often than any other group, vary in bee North America. Bumble bees are the B-1 bombers of bees. species. Long including birds and butterflies. Because of their chunky size, they can fly in cooler Pollen tongues fit long, temperatures and at lower light levels than many other Busy as a Bee basket tubular flowers bees including the honeybee. Thus, queen bumble bees like penstemons Bees are by far the most effective pollinators because are the earliest to emerge in spring in search of the first and short tongues they feed only on flowers. Flowers attract and reward bees fit short-tubed flowers of the season. for their pollination service. Bees gather two kinds of foods Bumble bees groom flowers like Lifestyle: An individual queen starts a colony in the spring pollen from their sunflowers. from flowers: sugar-rich nectar to fuel their flight and after she wakes from hibernation. She produces wax from body hairs into protein-rich pollen, or bee bread, to feed their young brood. “pollen baskets,” glands in her body to make pot-like cells in which to lay Bees use their tongues to lap or lick up nectar from flowers. or corbicula, for her eggs and to store nectar and pollen for her brood. transport to the Bees are a diverse group of insects that include four The young emerge in a few weeks as female worker bees. nest. thousand species native to North America. They can be As fall arrives, most bees die and only newly-mated queens organized into two groups based on their nesting lifestyle: overwinter to establish new colonies. solitary or social. About three-quarters of native bees in The European North America are solitary nest builders. Honeybee GARDENING Golden currant, serviceberry, and (Apis mellifera) chokecherry flower early in March and attract bumble is a social bee. Nesting Lifestyles bees and mason bees. Half-black Bumble Bee (Bombus vagans) on Tomatoes, Rocky Mountain Bee Plant peppers, and (Cleome serrulata) cranberries require a special bumble bee behavior called “buzz Solitary leaf-cutter Social nesting pollination”, in bee (Megachile) nest bumble bee (Bombus) which the bumble bee grabs the flower in her jaws and vibrates her G ARDENING Bees prefer blue, purple, and yellow wings to dislodge flowers, and sweet fragrances. They see ultraviolet pollen trapped colors – found on the flowers such as buttercups and in the flower’s anthers. black-eyed Susans. 3 4 Who Are Our Pollinators? Social Bees Bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, beetles, Bumble Bee (Bombus) wasps and even flies pollinate flowers, but bee species There are forty-seven species of bumble bees in Tongue lengths pollinate flowers more often than any other group, vary in bee North America. Bumble bees are the B-1 bombers of bees. species. Long including birds and butterflies. Because of their chunky size, they can fly in cooler Pollen tongues fit long, temperatures and at lower light levels than many other Busy as a Bee basket tubular flowers bees including the honeybee. Thus, queen bumble bees like penstemons Bees are by far the most effective pollinators because are the earliest to emerge in spring in search of the first and short tongues they feed only on flowers. Flowers attract and reward bees fit short-tubed flowers of the season. for their pollination service. Bees gather two kinds of foods Bumble bees groom flowers like Lifestyle: An individual queen starts a colony in the spring pollen from their sunflowers. from flowers: sugar-rich nectar to fuel their flight and after she wakes from hibernation. She produces wax from body hairs into protein-rich pollen, or bee bread, to feed their young brood. “pollen baskets,” glands in her body to make pot-like cells in which to lay Bees use their tongues to lap or lick up nectar from flowers. or corbicula, for her eggs and to store nectar and pollen for her brood. transport to the Bees are a diverse group of insects that include four The young emerge in a few weeks as female worker bees. nest. thousand species native to North America. They can be As fall arrives, most bees die and only newly-mated queens organized into two groups based on their nesting lifestyle: overwinter to establish new colonies.