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