Spring has sprung!  Thanks to all the natural pollinators, we can enjoy the beautiful blossoms we see throughout the growing season.  Pollinators are a key member of our natural environment.  Unfortunately, their populations are declining due largely to pesticide and insecticide use and loss or fragmentation of their habitats.

Use native plants to encourage pollinators in your yard.  Try to choose several colors of flowers (bees are especially attracted to blue, purple, violet, white and yellow), plant flowers in clumps, include flowers of different shpaes and have a diversity of plants flowering all season. 

Hummingbirds and bats are also pollinators so plant something that they might like too!

Regional Natives To Attract Bees...

 
Pollinator Info on the Web:

• Alternative Pollinators
• USFWS - Importance of Pollinators
• Pollinator Diversity Exercise
• The Pollination Home Page
• Pollinator Partnership

Bookshelf:

• The Forgotten Pollinators.  Stephen L. Buchmann, Gary P. Nabhan, Paul Mirocha.  Island Press, 1997.
• Pollinator Conservation Handbook:  A Guide to Understanding, Protecting, and Providing Habitat for Native Pollinator Insects.  Matthew Shepherd, Stephen Buchmann, Mace Vaughan, Scott Hoffman Black.  The Xerces Society, 2003.
• Plant-Pollinator Interactions:  From Specialization to Generalization.  Nicholas M. Waser.  University of Chicago Press, 2006
• Noah's Garden:  Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards.  Sara Stein.  Houghton Mifflin, 1995.

...and MANY more out there!!