Attracting Indiana Pollinators to Your Yard

What are pollinators? The easy answer and first to come to your mind, is probably bees, right? But did you also know that butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, common flies, as well as wasps also use nectar for energy, and are also valuable pollinators?

Indiana’s pollinators include 430 species of bees, 144 species of butterflies, more than 2,000 species of moths, and many species of flower-visiting flies, wasps, ants, and beetles too. Not only do pollinators help to pollinate our flowers but they are also responsible for pollinating our food crops. One in three bites of food we eat is due to cross-pollination by pollinators.

While pollinator species vary greatly in the number of different plant species they will use for food, there are two basic kinds of feeding patterns. Pollinators are considered specialists or generalists. Specialists only feed on one plant species, either as adults collecting pollen and nectar, or as larvae feeding on foliage. An example of this is the Monarch butterfly. Their caterpillars will only feed on milkweed. The Spring bee as an adult, will only feed on the Spring Beauty flowers. Generalists feed off many plant species, so the adult Monarch is considered a generalist because it will feed on any available nectar source.

Indiana’s pollinator communities face many threats. In the last 15 years, researchers have documented reduced populations of honeybees, bumble bees, and several butterfly and moth species. There are some things that we as homeowners can do with our own yards to help with conservation efforts.

The three ingredients to a successful backyard habitat are: Food, habitat for shelter and nesting and water.

Plants are the primary food source, and pollinators feed on nectar, pollen and leaves. To provide these things you need flowering plants. It is important to have a diversity of flowering plants in your backyard or garden, so you have flowers in bloom throughout the entire season. It is best to plant three flowering species from each of the three seasonal categories which are early-, mid-, and late-season bloomers. By choosing at least three from each category, you provide options for different pollinators in each season. Native plants are preferred, so tall phlox are better than geraniums and they love menarda, also called bee balm, and my favorite to grow is short-toothed mountain mint.

Backyard habitats for bees should include patches of bare ground, logs, stumps, last season’s flower stems, and taller grasses and flowers. Where possible, leave bare patches of ground and dead vegetation standing over the winter until mid-May. This will allow the pollinators a safe haven in the winter months.

Water is the third and most important ingredient in your backyard pollinator oasis. Some pollinators can gather water from dew on plants, but during drier summer months providing a shallow basin of water will provide this vital resource. Be sure to place rocks in the basin so pollinators can easily access the water without falling into the water and drowning. Bubble rocks can be easily made with a few items from your local home center or farm store. Using a few flat rocks, a large shallow water container, something like a large dog water bowl and a small fountain pump will allow you to enjoy hosting not only pollinators but birds all summer long at your self-made watering hole.

While it’s wonderful to have beautiful flowering pots on our patios and door stoops, we should also remember our Pollinator friends, and plant native species in our pots and landscaping whenever possible. And if you are very brave, or have a strong dislike for your neighbors, you can tear out your grass yard, and plant a pollinator oasis using wildflowers and other native species to keep the bees buzzing all season long! Happy planting!