Pollinator resources

Protect the pollinators in your neighborhood

There are more than 100,000 species of pollinators worldwide. Most pollinators are insects (e.g., bees, flies, butterflies, moths, beetles), but some mammals (e.g., hummingbirds, bats) and other vertebrate species can also act as pollinators.

Pollinators move pollen from male to female flower structures resulting in plant fertilization. Fertilization allows plants to create the seeds that give rise to the next generation of plants as well as the fruits or nutshells that surround these seeds.

Animal-mediated pollination contributes to 1 in every 3 bites of human food and pollinator activity is essential to sustaining healthy ecosystems on every continent except Antarctica. Troublingly, pollinator population sizes and species numbers are declining worldwide due to converging threats.

Fortunately, there are many things YOU can do to help alleviate the stressors faced by pollinators. Read on to learn about the threats that pollinators face and the solutions to sustaining their vital populations.

Jump to topic

Threats

Factors driving pollinator declines

Floral habitat for pollinators

How to improve your foraging index scores

Nesting habitat for pollinators

How to improve your nesting index score

Minimizing pesticide use

How to improve your insecticide index score

Citizen science

Monitoring pollinators and their habitat

Beekeeping resources

Best management practices

Threats

Factors driving pollinator declines

Bees and other pollinators are caught in the crosshairs of global warming, habitat fragmentation and destruction, pesticide exposure, invasive species, diseases and other pressures. Visit the Center for Pollinator Research to read more about each threat to pollinator health.

Floral habitat for pollinators

How to improve your foraging index scores

Pollinators rely on nectar and pollen to fuel their daily activities and feed their young. To nourish pollinators on your property, plant a variety of native plant species that bloom throughout the entire growing season. This will ensure that food is always available for active pollinators. Please check the following resources to learn more about creating and maintaining floral habitat. You can also reach out to your local university extension service to gather more information.

Gardening for pollinators (Center for Pollinator Research).
Native plant lists by continental US region (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation).
Ecoregional planting guides (Pollinator Partnership)
Forms to help you establish pollinator habitat and evaluate its quality (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation).
Natural Conservation Resources Service (NRCS), especially if you manage Conservation Reserve Program lands

Nesting habitat for native bees and other pollinators

How to improve your nesting index score

Popular culture usually depicts honey bee colonies in trees, skeps or Langstroth hives without reference to the life histories of the twenty-thousand other bee species found worldwide. In fact, the majority of bee species are solitary or only partially social and most nest in the ground. Additional wild bee nesting sites include dead logs, hollow plant stems, cracks or cavities in trees and rocks and even empty snail shells!

Other pollinator species, like butterflies and moths, lay their eggs on specific host plants that the caterpillars eat once they hatch. For instance, monarch butterfly caterpillars can only survive on milkweed plants.

Preparing a variety of nesting sites on your property (soil, logs, etc.) as well as installing host plants can encourage pollinators to take up residence. Please check the following resources to learn more about nesting habitats for pollinators.

Nesting sites for bees including references on how to responsibly use bee hotels (Center for Pollinator Research).
Nesting resources for pollinators (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation).

Minimizing pollinator exposure to pesticide use

How to improve your insecticide index score

Pesticides include chemicals that target insects (insecticides), fungi (fungicides) and weeds (herbicides). While fungicides and herbicides are not intended to directly target insects, bees and other pollinators exposed to any of these pesticide categories can suffer lethal or sublethal effects. Pollinators exposed to a sublethal pesticide dose are not killed outright but still suffer negative health consequences. For example, a sublethal pesticide exposure can suppress a bee’s immune system or affect its cognitive function, making the bee more likely to die from an infection or to get lost while foraging. Ultimately, sublethal exposures reduce pollinator success by reducing their overall lifespan and/or the ability to produce healthy offspring.

To protect pollinators, avoid using pesticides whenever possible. However, pesticides are sometimes needed. In these cases, Integrated Pest and Pollinator Management (IPPM) practices offer guidelines for selecting and applying pesticides to minimize risks to pollinators while still controlling pests. IPPM guidelines are being developed for different cropping systems and there are also frameworks for residential or garden properties.

In general, select your pesticide product carefully; some pesticides are less toxic or break down more quickly than others. When applying the pesticide, always follow the label instructions for your own health and safety as well as that of pollinators! Spray plants when they are not in bloom and thus will be less attractive to pollinators (or at night when most pollinators are not active). Please check additional resources for more information.

Minimize pesticide use (Center for Pollinator Research)
Risks of pesticides to pollinators (Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation).
If you have questions about IPPM strategies for residential properties or agricultural systems, visit Penn State’s Extension webpage to search for articles, or reach out to your nearest university extension service.

Citizen science

Monitoring pollinators and their habitat

Citizen science programs enable members of the public to voluntarily contribute their observations to scientific projects that track ongoing, real-world trends. Data contributed at the community level is powerful. Public engagement provides much more information than scientists could ever gather by themselves, and a critical mass of data can lead to new discoveries and solutions.

The US landscape spans vast ecosystems that support many different pollinator communities. It is not possible for scientists to track all the habitat resources available to pollinators, and how pollinator communities shift in response to habitat changes. Observations contributed by citizen scientists makes monitoring the relationship between pollinators and their habitat feasible at a large scale!

Many citizen science projects focus on tracking select pollinator species and/or some aspect of their habitat (e.g., floral resources). The amount of time required varies from project to project. Some project requirements are as simple as snapping and uploading pictures. Others request participants to make observations at specific times and locations. Based on your time and interests, you can select a program that’s right for you! Check the links below to learn more about pollinator citizen science opportunities. You can also reach out to your local university extension service to learn if there are new, local university studies.

Pollinator citizen science projects (Center for Pollinator Research).
Monarch citizen science projects (Monarch Joint Venture)

Beekeeping resources

Best management practices

There are many excellent, science-based honey bee husbandry resources in print and online. Penn State offers an online Beekeeping 101 course in addition to many free materials. Visit the Center for Pollinator Research Beekeeping Page to learn more. You can also contact your local Beekeeping Chapter and university extension service to connect with nearby expertise. Additional information sources include COLOSS and the Bee Health community page.