A monarch butterfly caterpillar rests on a milkweed plant. (Photo courtesy of MelindaMyers.com)
Melinda Myers
June is National Pollinator Month, a great time to celebrate all the pollinators who play a vital role in producing the food, fiber, medicines, and more we rely on. When we think of pollinators, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are what first come to mind. But moths, wasps, beetles, flies, bats, and other birds also help pollinate our gardens. More than 80% of all flowering plant species depend on pollinators, including more than 180,000 flower species and more than 1,200 crop species.
Like honeybees and monarch butterflies, many of these pollinators are struggling, with populations declining due to pesticides and habitat loss. Gardeners can make a difference by creating pollinator gardens filled with their favorite plants.
When designing your garden, choose plants with a variety of shapes, colors and flowering periods. They will attract a variety of pollinators and provide a constant supply of nectar and pollen. Plant bright white, yellow, blue and ultraviolet colored flowers to attract bees. Also plant tubular flowers with branches and landing platforms for butterflies. Butterflies especially love purple and red flowers.
If you see beetles crawling around on your plants, don't rush to get rid of them. Many beetles don't harm plants and instead carry pollen as they move around your garden. These omnivorous insects visit a variety of plants, but they are most commonly found pollinating large, strongly scented flowers such as Canada ginger, magnolia, pawpaw, and yellow water lily.
Although flies are a nuisance, they are also busy pollinating flowers. Like beetles, they are omnivorous and tend to pollinate small flowers with shallow funnel-shaped or complex trap-shaped flowers. They are commonly found on annuals, bulbous plants, goldenrods, skunk cabbage, papaya, and plants in the carrot family.
It can be difficult to welcome the feared and dreaded hornets into your garden, but most wasps are solitary and not all of them sting, and there are also predators and parasitoids that can help control pests in your garden.
In addition to helping control mosquitoes, bats also pollinate over 500 species of night-blooming flowers around the world. Bats prefer the moldy or rotting smells of some types of plants, mainly tropical and desert plants.
Most of us love watching hummingbirds visit our yards and feeders. Hummingbirds are North America's primary pollinators, carrying pollen in their beaks and wings. Hummingbirds favor vibrant crimson, orange, red, and white tubular flowers. The Baltimore oriole is a pollinator that accidentally spreads pollen as it drinks nectar from flowers, while the white-winged pigeon pollinates and spreads the seeds of saguaro cacti.
Be sure to include milkweed, herbs, trees, shrubs, and grasses with leaves. These plants provide food for caterpillars and other insects. Whenever possible, use native plants such as trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses. These plants evolved with pollinators to provide the greatest benefit. Make sure the native plants you choose are suitable for your growing conditions and available space.
Don't overlook some cultivated plants, as they attract and help pollinators. Many plants have flowers and leaves that benefit a variety of pollinators. Keep an eye out for honeybees visiting the flowers of thyme, borage, and calamint; hummingbirds sucking on the flowers of salvia, cuphea, and verbena; and swallowtail caterpillars feeding on dill, fennel, and parsley leaves.
Once you've created a pollinator-friendly environment, give them time to discover your pollinator paradise. It may take time, but once word gets out, you'll be able to enjoy plenty of pollinators and the many benefits they provide.
To learn more, watch the recording of Melinda Myers' “Underappreciated Pollinators” webinar and download the handout.
Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Midwest Gardener's Handbook, 2nd Edition and Small Space Gardening. She is the host of The Great Courses' “How to Grow Anything” instant video and DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda's Garden Moment radio show. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
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