Pollinator Conservation
Plants for Native Bees

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Native bees are a vital part of our environment. They ensure healthy wildflower communities and bountiful harvests of fruit and vegetables. Unfortunately, bees are suffering from the fragmentation and loss of their habitat and from extensive use of pesticides.

Bees require two essential components in their habitat: somewhere to nest and flowers from which to gather nectar and pollen. Native plants are undoubtedly the best source of food for bees, because plants and their pollinators have coevolved. Garden plants may also be good for these important insects.

In many landscapes, flowers have been pushed to the margins, surviving on roadsides and field edges, as well as in wild areas and gardens. Providing patches of flowers is one thing we all can do to improve our environment for pollinators. And, creating foraging habitat not only helps bees (and other pollinators) but also results in a beautiful, appealing landscape.

Choosing the Right Flowers
To help bees and other pollinator insects--such as butterflies--you should provide a range of plants that will offer a succession of flowers, and thus pollen and nectar, through the whole growing season. Patches of foraging habitat can be created in many different locations, from backyards and school grounds to golf courses and city parks. Even a small area planted with good flowers will be beneficial for local bees, because each patch will add to the mosaic of habitat available to bees and other pollinators.

Use local native plants. Native plants, which are usually best for native bees, can be used in both wild areas and gardens. Research suggests native plants are up to four times more attractive to native bees than exotic (nonnative) flowers. Native plants are also usually well adapted to your growing conditions and can thrive with minimum attention.

Use heirloom varieties. For the garden, heirloom varieties of herbs and perennials are good sources of nectar or pollen and thus provide good foraging. Mixing garden and native plants will make a garden attractive to both pollinators and people.

Chose several colors of flowers. Bees have good color vision to help them find flowers and the nectar and pollen they offer. Flower colors that particularly attract bees are blue, purple, violet, white, and yellow.

Plant flowers in clumps. Flowers clustered into clumps of one species will attract more pollinators than will individual plants scattered through the habitat patch. Where space allows, make the clumps four feet or more in diameter.

Include flowers of different shapes. There are nearly four thousand different species of bees in North America, and they are all different sizes, have different tongue lengths, and will feed on different shaped flowers. Therefore, providing a range of flower shapes means more bees can benefit.

Have a diversity of plants flowering all season. Most bee species are generalists, feeding on a range of plants through their life cycle. By having several plant species flowering at once and a sequence of plants flowering through spring, summer, and fall, you will support a range of bee species that fly at different times of the year.

Native plants for bees
Native plants should be your first choice to help our native bees. Listed below are some plants that are good sources of nectar or pollen.

This list is not exhaustive; many other plants are good for bees. Individual species have not been included because we hope the list will be useful across the U.S. Not all of these genera will have species in your local area, but they do represent plants that will grow in a variety of environments. Use a wildflower guide or contact local nurseries to find your local species.

Aster Aster
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia
Caltrop Kallstroemia
Creosote bush Larrea
Currant Ribes
Elder Sambucus
Goldenrod Solidago
Huckleberry Vaccinium
Joe-pye weed Eupatorium
Lupine Lupinus
Oregon grape Berberis
Penstemon Penstemon
Purple coneflower Echinacea
Rabbit-brush Chrysothamnus
Rhododendron Rhododendron
Sage Salvia
Scorpion-weed Phacelia
Snowberry Symphoricarpos
Stonecrop Sedum
Sunflower Helianthus
Wild buckwheat Eriogonum
Wild-lilac Ceanothus
Willow Salix

Garden plants for bees
Flower beds in gardens, business campuses, and parks are great places to have bee-friendly plants. Native plants will create a beautiful garden but some people prefer "garden" plants. Many garden plants are varieties of native plants, so this list only includes plants from other countries--"exotic" plants--and should be used as a supplement to the native plant list. As with the native plants, this list is not exhaustive.

Basil Ocimum
Cotoneaster Cotoneaster
English lavender Lavandula
Giant hyssop Agastache
Globe thistle Echinops
Hyssop Hyssopus
Marjoram Origanum
Rosemary Rosmarinus
Wallflower Erysimum
Zinnia Zinnia

Produced by Matthew Shepherd, Pollinator Conservation Program, Xerces Society
April 2004