Fact Sheet No. Insect Ser ies|Home and Garden
Quick Facts•Pollinator species include bees,beetles,flies,moths,butterflies,hummingbirds,and bats.
•Morethan70%oftheworld’sfloweringplantsrelyonpollinationwhichisessentialforproducingfruitsandseeds.
• Justlikehumansandotheranimals, pollinators need food,water,shelterandspace(collectivelyknownashabitat)to support robust populations.
•Creatinghabitatissomethingthateveryonecandotohelpsupportpollinatorsintheirarea.
Pollinatorsareanimalspeciesthatprovide pollination services to plants innatural/wildlandscapes,cultivatedgardensandagriculturesettingsaroundtheglobe.Theyhavecoevolvedwithplantsandtherelationshipbetweenplantsandpollinatorsisveryintricate;eachrelyingoneachotherforsurvival.Theseimportantserviceshelpmanyplantscompletetheirlifecycles,aswellasensuringfoodandshelterfor
byH.S.Arathi,D.DavidsonandL.Mason*
©ColoradoStateUniversityExtension. 1/18.
extension.colostate.edu
Creating Pollinator Habitat 5.616
Figure 1a:Swallowtailbutterfly.PhotobyLisaMason
*H.S. Arathi (Arathi Seshadri), CSU, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, D. Davidson: CSU Extension, Boulder County, L. Mason: CSU Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management Department, 1/2018.
Figure 1b:Hummingbird.PhotobyLisaMason
humansandotheranimalsformanygenerations.Pollinatorsvisitflowerstocollectnectarandpollenwhichprovidesnutritionfortheiroffspring.Morethan70%offloweringplantsintheworldrelyonpollinatorsforfruitand seed production.
Flower Visitor or Pollinator? Pollinatorsincludebees,wasps,beetles,flies,moths,butterflies,hummingbirds,andbats(Fig.1a,bandc).However,justbecauseaninsectorabirdisvisitingaflower,itisnotnecessarilyapollinator(Fig.2).Pollinatorsmovebetweenflowersofthesameplantspeciesinanorderlyfashion,whereasflowervisitorsmovehaphazardlyamongflowersspendingverylittletimewithinaflower.Evenifitdoeshappenthataflowervisitorgatherspollengrainsonitsbody,itwillnotnecessarilymovetothesameflowerspecies,thereforepollinationwouldnotoccur.
How Pollination HappensWhenapollinatorentersaflower,pollengrainsfromthatflowersticktoitsbody(Fig.3).Thepollinatorthenmovestoanotherfloweronthesameplantoradifferentplant,butofthesamespecies.Thisleadstothetransferofpollenfromitsbody
Figure 1c:Bumblebee.PhotobyLisaMason
Figure 3:Honeybeecoveredinpollengrains.PhotobyBruceLeander
tothenextflowerresultingincross-pollination.Pollinationisessentialforplantreproduction–productionoffruitsandseeds.Itisimportanttonotethatnotallplantsrelyonpollinators,somearewindpollinatedsuchasmostofourgrains:wheat,rice,corn,barley,oats, etc.
What is Pollinator Habitat?Justlikehumansandotheranimals,pollinatorsneedfood,water,shelterand space to support robust populations.Pollinatorhabitatisanareawithavarietyoffloweringplantsthatprovidefoodandnestingspace.Thehabitatmaybeanaturalsettingsuchasaprairieorameadow,oritcouldbemanmadewhereacombinationoffloweringplantsarecultivatedspecificallytoprovidenutritionandnestingspaceforpollinators.Manmadepollinator
Figure 2:Masaridwasp.PhotobyLynnandGene Monroe
habitatscanbefoundinavarietyofsettings,bothlargeandsmall.Somegardens,suchasbotanicalgardens,maybeacollectionofplantsusedforconservationanddisplaypurposesandinothercases,gardensmaybeplaceswherenewvarietiesoffloweringplantsarebeingevaluated;these,alongwithhomegardenscanserveaspollinatorhabitat.Inmostcases,whenthereareseveralfloweringplantsallinbloom,pollinatorswillbeattractedtothem(Fig.4).
Ifahabitatisintentionallyplantedtoprovidenutritionforpollinators,thenitneedstocontainamixtureofplantspeciessothatbloomtimesrangefromearlyspringtolatefall.Thisensuresthatflowerswillbeavailablethroughoutthepollinatoractivityseason.Homegardens,parks,communitygardens,prairiesandmeadowscanallprovidepollenandnectar.Thesehabitatscanberefugesforpollinatorsforagingthroughlawnsandfarmlandsthatmaynothavethefloralresourcestheyneed.
How to Create Pollinator HabitatYoucandesignagardenthatisbothbeautifulforyouandprovideshabitat(food,waterandshelter)forpollinators.Animportantfactortoconsiderwhenplanningahabitatgardeniswhattypeofpollinatoryouaredesigningitfor.Providingplantsthatbloomearlyintheseasonuntillateisimportantforallpollinators,butyoushouldalsoconsiderwhattypeofflowersandpotentialnesting
sitestomakethegardenattractivetodifferentspecies.Forinstance,beespreferabroadrangeofplants,someofwhichmayprovidepollenonly,whileothersprovide pollen andnectar.Flowersizealsomatters.Somenativesbees are quite largeandprefersizeappropriateflowers,whereas
smallerbeeswillbeabletoworksmallerflowersmoreeffectively.Whenplantingforpollinatorsitisimportanttoconsiderthestructureoftheflowerstoo.Differentspeciesmaybemoreorlessinclinedtovisitabellshapedfloweroveraflatdiskshapedflowerandviceversa.Beesliketofocusonflowersofsimilarstructureandsogroupingflowersofsimilarstructuretogetherwhiledesigningthelandscapewillworkinsyncwiththeirpreferences.Itisbesttoplantinlayers,replicatingnature.Beginbyestablishingabasicstructurewithtreesandshrubs.Thenaddperennials,grasses,andgroundcoversasfurtherlayerswithinthelandscape.
Plant list for forageThelistofplantsforpollinatorhabitatswillvaryfordifferentpartsofColoradoasclimaticconditions,soilquality,elevationandwateravailabilityarehighlyvariable.Herearesomesuitableplantsthataregroupedbasedonthefloweringseason.Again,itisimportanttohaveplantsthatbloomfromearlyspringthroughsummerandaslateintothefallaspossibletoprovidecontinualresourcesforpollinators.Thislistmaybeupdatedperiodicallysocheckbackbeforeplantingseasonandmakesureplantsyouchooseareappropriatetoyourarea.
Early-Season
•Noddingonion–Allium cernuum
•Serviceberry–Amelanchier alnifolia
•Winecups – Callirhoe involucrata
•Sulphurflower–Eriogonum umbellatum
•Wallflower–Erysimum spp.
•Prairie smoke – Geum triflorum
•BlueFlax–Linum lewisii
•Bluemistandfirecrackerpenstemon–Penstemon eatorii and P. virens
•Pasqueflower–Pulsatilla patens
•Floweringfruittreesincludingapples,cherries,peachesandplums
•Penstemons(manynativeandcultivaroptions,checkwithlocalnursery)
•Yarrow–Achillea millefolium
ColoradoStateUniversity,U.S.DepartmentofAgricultureandColoradocountiescooperating.CSUExtensionprogramsareavailabletoallwithoutdiscrimination.Noendorsementofproductsmentionedisintendednoriscriticismimpliedofproductsnotmentioned.
Locationofthegardenisextremelyimportant.Mostpollinatorsgenerallyprefersunnyareasandlargeconnectedhabitatsarebetterthansmallpatchyones.Beforeplanting,determineifyoucanconnectyourfrontyardandyourbackyardthroughtheuseoffloweringplantsandplanaccordingly.Itisimportanttohaveavarietyoffloweringspeciesplantedasgroups/swathsinthelandscaperatherthanassingleplants.Thisallowsthepollinatorstoworkoneareamorethoroughlyandefficiently,ratherthanhavingtomovearoundagreatdealtofindplantsofthesamespecies.
Challenges for PollinatorsThereareavarietyoffactorsfacingpollinatorswhichinteractwitheachother.Intensiveagriculturewithincreasedmonocropping,severalrotationsintheyear,indiscriminateandimproperuseofchemicalstoreduceweedsandpests,anddestructionofnaturalhabitatsaresomeofthemostimportantfactors.These,incombination,compromisethenutritionandhealthofourpollinators,leavingthemtobecomevulnerabletomanydiseasesandpests.Youreffortstocreatehabitatfortheseimportantspeciescangreatlycontributetowardstheongoingeffortsfortheprotectionandconservationofallpollinators.
Theimportantthingtorememberisthatanyhabitatisbetterthannohabitat.Ifdonecorrectly,creatingabeautifulgardenforyourselfcanhavefarreachingbenefitsthatpositivelyimpactthegreaterecosystemthatsurroundsyou.
ReferencesAttracting Native Bees to Your Landscape, Colorado State University Fact Sheet # 5.615
Websites for other plant options:
•TheXercesSociety:(https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/)
•USDANRCS:(https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/plantsanimals/pollinate/?cid=NRCS143_022326)
•NAPPC/PollinatorPartnership:(http://pollinator.org/guides)
Figure 4:Pollinatorhabitat.PhotobyDerynDavidson
Mid-Season
• LeadPlant–Amorpha canescens
•Asters(manynativeandcultivaroptions,checkwithlocalnursery)
•Pearlyeverlasting–Anaphalis margaritacea
•Showymilkweed–Asclepias speciosa
•Harebells – Campanula rotundifolia
•Blanketflower–Gaillardia aristata
•Salvias(manynativeandcultivaroptions,checkwithlocalnursery)
• Floweringtreesincludingwillows,blacklocust,lindenandhoneylocust
Late-Season
•BlueGiantHyssop–Agastache foeniculum
•RockyMountainbeeplant–Cleome serrulata
•Plains Coreopsis – Coreopsis tinctoria
•Commonsunflower–Helianthus annuus
•HairyFalseGoldenaster–Heterotheca villosa
•Goldenrod – Solidago spp.
•Rabbitbrush–Chrysothamnus nauseosus
•Chokecherry–Prunus virginiana
•Boulderraspberry–Rubus deliciosus