DON’T FORGET BIODIVERSITY! Growing many kinds of flowers is one way to support beneficial that pollinate our LARVAL HOSTS crops, gardens and wild places. Here are examples of common pollinators (butterflies, bees, beetles, Many insects (especially butterflies) moths, wasps and flies) and the native blooms they depend on for and nectar through the seasons. lay their eggs on only certain . When they hatch, the larvae eat on the plant’s for food before spring summer autumn morphing into adults. Large Beardtongue & Eastern Leadplant & Small Carpenter Bees Aromatic Aster & Blue-Green Sweat Bees Golden Alexanders & Black Swallowtail Penstemon grandiflorus & Xylocopa virginica Amorpha canescens & Ceratina sp. Symphyotrichum oblongifolium & Augochlorella sp. aurea & plantnebraska.org A shiny, mostly Ceratina visit Asters provide black body Amorpha for valuable, late- distinguishes pollen as well season nectar this bee from as nectar, for sweat bees. its cousin, the gleaning both bumble bee. protein and more at carbohydrates. ADULT Eastern Columbine & Dark Sweat Bees Tea & Syrphid Fly Wichita Mountains Goldenrod & Soldier Beetle Cream Wild Indigo & Orange Sulphur Aquilegia canadensis & Lasioglossum sp. Ceanothus americanus & Allograpta obliqua Solidago ‘Wichita Mountains’ & Podabrus flavicollis Baptisia bracteata & Colias eurytheme This type of tiny The second most Beetles like this one sweat bee is effective are important able to collect pollinators on pollinators, and pollen from the prairie are are commonly these trumpet- flies, like this found on like flowers. syrphid fly. goldenrod. ADULT

Wild Cherries, Plums & Ichneumonids Bergamot Beebalm & Bee Fly Dotted Blazing Star & Butterfly Milkweed & Small Milkweed Bug Prunus sp. & Lissonota sp. fistulosa & Systoechus vulgaris punctata & Danaus plexippus Asclepias tuberosa & Lygaeus kalmii This beneficial Bee flies collect Monarchs only wasp, which nectar from feed on nectar, generally can’t Monarda with but from sting, visits their proboscis a variety Prunus flowers while hovering of sources for nectar. over the flower. including Liatris. ADULT

Currants, Gooseberries & Bumble Bees Buttonbush & Sunflower Bee Blue Pitcher Sage & Silver Spotted Skipper Willows & Mourning Cloak Ribes sp. & Bombus sp. Cephalanthus occidentalis & Svastra obliqua azurea & Epargyreus clarus Salix sp. & Nymphalis antiopa The nectar and Although known A long proboscis pollen of Ribes for visiting allows silver flowers attract sunflowers, spotted emerging this bee visits skippers to visit bumble bee buttonbush for this Salvia for queens. nectar. nectar.

Nebraska plants & pollinators plants & Nebraska ADULT Photo Credits: Jim Kalisch, UNL Arthopod Library pollinator garden calendar Emerging mason plant crowns.Keepitless than 2”deepforbetter bee. Push mulchawayfrom

plant vigor. spring forage onspringflowers. species. They lookformatesand bare ground,dependingonthe hollow stems,unmowngrassor nation inspringfromdeadwood, pollinators awakenfromhiber overwintering insects.Many the gardensoastonotdisturb Wait untilmid-Apriltotidyup EMERGE not sprayingforweeds herbicide damageby as woodiesleafout. Save treesfrom Mating eastern Mating eastern tailed blues. hibernating pollinators. stems foratidylook, Cut backlastyear’s but leave12-16”for Tachnid flyeggs on a caterpillar. unsightly weedsasthey bloom tocontroltheir - Cut orpulltall, populations. Ground beenests in a lawn. dirt inasunnyspotfor ground-nesting bees. Reserve somebare

pollinators mate,nest summer a wildcorneras len fromsummerflowers. larvae forageonnectarandpol cies. Adults andnewly-hatched ground, dependingonthespe stems, unmowngrassorinthe leaves orindeadwood,hollow pollinators layeggsonplant insects. Bymid-summer, many Leave awildspottohostnesting NEST Make roomfor and forage. caterpillar larva. Hawk moth from pesticideslikebug

killer spraysandtree Keep theyardsafe injections. feeding onpollen. Soldier beetle to haveawetspotfor drought, butit’sgood Try towateronlyin - - butterflies. Foraging paper lawn clippingstokeep wasp. weeds downuntilthe Mulch withleavesor garden matures. autumn adults bythistime. Some specieshavemorphedinto aging onlate-bloomingflowers. tumn andspendtheirtimefor and adultsareactiveduringau scarce. Mostpollinatorlarvae age whenitmightotherwisebe and goldenrodtoprovidefor Grow plantslikeaster, sedum FORAGE Pearl crescentpupa in achrysalis. pollinators lookforsafe for yardclean-upas Wait untillatespring spots tooverwinter. they’re greenandnative persistent weedswhile plants aredormant. Time togetridof queen - burrow. -

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plantnebraska.org butterflies and other pollinators. pollinators. other and butterflies This garden is home to bees, bees, to home is garden This winter to protecthibernating wood orintheground. in pilesofleavesorsticks,dead shrubs, treesorfenceposts, hidden wildspotsliketallgrass, active state,oftentuckedawayin Most spendthewinterinan have safeplacestohibernate. turbed untilspringsopollinators Try toleavethegardenundis OVERWINTER and leavesstanding Leave deadstems making abeehotelor scrapbook ofpollinator pollinators. photos fromtheyard. Have somefun - -