15 Underappreciated Pollinators and How to Attract Them to Your Garden
Honeybees aren’t the only pollinators. Hundreds of other bugs, birds, and butterflies pollinate flowers! The more you invite to your garden, the more resilient your plants will be. Lure these 15 underappreciated pollinators with tried and tested methods from professional grower Jerad Bryant.
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Pollinators are necessary, and they come in many forms! They visit flowers, transfer pollen between them, and ensure our favorite veggies and fruits develop. Without these critters, there wouldn’t be enough tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers to go around.
Though European honeybees are the face of the pollinator crisis, they aren’t the only creatures that pollinate flowers. Native bumblebees, beetles, and butterflies are all important critters to consider. When honeybees fail to pollinate crops, these underappreciated native pollinators step up to the plate.
Bumblebee
Aside from honeybees, bumblebees are some of the most recognizable yet underappreciated pollinators. They have big, black bodies with yellow stripes and a set of clear wings that buzz when they fly. They use buzz pollination to increase fruit set on tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, all crops that honeybees struggle to pollinate.
Bumblebees sit in the flowers, frantically moving their bodies with a buzzing sound that causes pollen to shake out from the male floral parts into the female ones. They’re a necessary part of a thriving garden ecosystem, and many are native to the U.S.!
Invite these critters by planting more native plants. The more nectar and pollen there is for them to access, the more they’ll show up. Another way to attract them is with a water source. Bees, like us, are thirsty! Add a water saucer, bird bath, or fountain with untreated water to help quench their thirst.
Ground Bee
Ground bees are less visible than bumblebees and honeybees because they live underground. They’re solitary, unlike honeybees, and they live alone rather than in colonies. You’ll notice them hoarding pollen in their burrows for their young and themselves to eat.
Ground bees need habitats to thrive. They’ll bring themselves to your garden if there’s space for them to live. Attract them with loose, free-draining soil and avoid tilling or cultivating the area.
Don’t worry about getting stung, as the male bees lack stingers and they’re more likely to leave the nest than female bees. They’ll aerate your lawn, pollinate your crops, and bring life to your garden!
Carpenter Bee
Like ground bees, carpenter bees are solitary, underappreciated pollinators that don’t get enough recognition. They burrow inside wood, creating six to ten-inch-long cavities where they lay their eggs and live throughout the year. They resemble bumblebees with yellow and black stripes along their bodies, and they also use buzz pollination on crops like tomatoes and eggplants.
Carpenter bees need wooden boards and structures to form their nests. Attract them with a bee bungalow, or make one yourself with old wooden boards. The insects bore into solid wood that holds its shape and is not yet rotten. They also appreciate a freshwater source, like a saucer or bird bath.
Butterfly
Butterflies are stunning additions to the home garden! Not only do they pollinate flowers when they search for nectar, but they’re also an important food source for other birds, snakes, and similar predators. Their wormy larvae are an important part of many birds’ diets.
Butterflies, like hummingbirds, are pollinators that frequent tubular blossoms with ample nectar inside. They like flat, pad-like blooms that offer a resting spot for them while they eat and drink.
Attract more butterflies by planting milkweed, yarrow, and goldenrod. Nectar-rich wildflowers are ideal for luring them into your space.
Moth
Moths, like butterflies, are a food source for other critters when they’re adults and larvae. They’re also important pollinating insects. Unlike the others, most moth species frequent the garden at night! It’s rare to see them active during the day, but if you walk the garden after dusk, you’ll see them fluttering from bloom to bloom.
Attract these underappreciated pollinators with flowers they like. They appreciate night-blooming specimens, like moonflowers, and nectar-rich plants. Consider growing yucca, gardenia, or morning glories to lure these insects to your garden.
Some plants, like many yucca species in the U.S., are entirely reliant on moths for pollination. Adult moths feed on and fertilize the flowers, causing seeds to form. The moths need the flowers for food, and the plants need the moths for their pollinating abilities.
Beetle
Beetles are one of the world’s first pollinators! They evolved before bees and butterflies, forming partnerships with ancient trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. Though underappreciated for their efforts and looks, these pollinators can make a big difference in the home landscape.
Beetles have unique ways of pollinating blossoms. One novel example is the spicebush, Calycanthus occidentalis. The flowers contain a nutritious fleshy portion that the beetles break off and eat. As they break it off, they dust pollen from the anthers into the stigmas and fertilize the flowers.
Magnolias also attract beetles; they have an ancient partnership that goes back millions of years! Attract more beetles by planting magnolias, spicebushes, and similar old plants.
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are pollinators, too! They use their long, thin beaks to suck nectar from flowers. As they suck, they help pollen go from the male anthers to the female stigmas.
Hummingbirds appreciate red, tubular blossoms. Plant pineapple sage, penstemons, and agastaches to attract them. Watch your garden, as you’ll notice them frequenting the flowers they like from spring through fall.
If there aren’t many flowers for hummingbirds in your space, consider adding a feeder to attract them. Fill the feeders with a sugary nectar solution, and place them high up where the birds can see them. Here’s a simple recipe for making hummingbird nectar:
- ¼ cup cane sugar
- 1 cup of boiling water
Mix the two ingredients until the sugar dissolves, then let the solution cool. Fill the feeders with the solution, and store any extra liquid in the fridge for up to a week.
Bat
Bats work at night, similar to moths. They use echolocation to find prey and to locate blossoming flowers. Once located, they descend into them to lap up nutritious nectar and pollen.
Often misunderstood, bats are underappreciated pollinators in tropical and desert regions where temperatures are warm year-round. They’re essential for fruit crops such as mangoes, bananas, and guavas. The large, sweet-smelling blossoms attract the nocturnal creatures.
Other plants that attract bats include bananas, areca palms, and agaves. Grow these heat-loving plants in tropical or desert gardens to provide food for local bats.
Wasp
Don’t let wasps scare you! These stinging insects are incredibly valuable in your garden. Some are underappreciated pollinators, and many others are beneficial predators that control pests. They have intricate partnerships with dozens of other garden creatures.
Whether you have mud daubers, paper wasps, or bald-faced hornets, it’s better to leave them be than interfere with their nests. Wasps are territorial and aggressive, and disturbing them can push them into a frenzy.
To safely relocate wasps, contact professional pest control agencies that don’t use harmful pesticides. You don’t have to kill these beneficial creatures; instead, relocate them away from walkways and doorways and let them continue killing pests and pollinating flowers in your garden.
Ant
Ants aren’t just pesky foragers that invade your cabinets—they’re pollinators! These tiny insects are intelligent, strong, and resilient. They crawl into flowers by traveling up the stems and into the blossoms.
Although ants visit flowers, they tend not to pollinate the blooms they enter. This is due to an antibiotic secretion they produce. It protects them from fungi and bacteria, but it tends to kill the pollen grains before they come into contact with other flowers.
Despite their pollen-killing tendencies, ants act as pollinators for Small’s stonecrop, alpine nailwort, and Cascade knotweed. Aside from growing these plants, you can protect ants by not treating your home for them. Avoid using pesticides or harmful chemicals that harm ants and their insect relatives.
Hover Fly
Hoverflies, or syrphid flies, are pollinators in the same order as flies, Diptera. They receive their name because of their hovering tendencies. You’ll notice they hover in place before darting back and forth from blossom to blossom.
Hoverflies are similar to wasps. They act as pollinators for some flowers, and they also eat pests like aphids, thrips, and caterpillars.
Attract hoverflies by planting more pollen-rich blooms. Let your kale and lettuce flower instead of pulling them out, or plant more native plants around your garden’s borders.
Sawfly
Sawflies are more closely related to bees and wasps than they are to flies. They have “fly” in their name because they resemble flies with their clear wings and black bodies. Their larvae can harm ornamental conifers and deciduous plants by eating their leaves, though the adult sawflies act as pollinators in home gardens.
If you spot sawfly larvae on a conifer or two, consider letting them eat the portion! The larvae will morph into adult sawflies that boost pollination rates the next year.
As long as the infestation isn’t covering the entire plant, your conifer or tree should rebound the next year. Squish or knock off the larvae with a strong stream of water if there are too many of them.
Fly
Yes, pesky flies are pollinators! These insects that ruin your plate of summer barbecue are the same ones that pollinate a select number of plants. Because many flies lay their eggs in rotting meat or waste, some flowers give off a rot-like odor!
This unique fragrance attracts hordes of flies. Once the flies arrive at the blossoms, they pollinate the flowers, lay eggs in them, or both!
Attract flies by growing plants with bad-smelling odors. Plant starfish cactus, skunk cabbage, or pipevine. Other flies like sweet-smelling plants, like goldenrods, asters, and daisies. Planting a mix of species will help lure a wide variety of flies.
Gnat
Gnats are annoying, sure. They’re also pollinators, and they deserve protection! Swat them away if they’re flying in your face, but leave them be if they’re frequenting your garden.
These tiny insects are close relatives of flies and mosquitoes, and they frequent similar plants. Their larvae are maggots that feed on dead organic matter, while the adults are small flies that visit flowers. Grow gnat-attracting plants such as Jack-in-the-pulpit to boost their populations in your yard.
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are more annoying than gnats! They suck blood from their hosts with their long mouths, and they visit flowers when they need some extra sugar.
These pollinators are easy to attract. Simply walk outside and hold out your arm! The mosquitoes will flock to your arm in search of blood.
Just kidding, don’t do that! You likely won’t have to attract these insects, as they’re incredibly common throughout the U.S. Most of us want to keep them away with mosquito-repellent plants, but a few that stick around may help your garden.
