Attracting Pollinators
- Doug Mandel
- Apr 16
- 5 min read
Updated: Apr 23
The following is a condensed version of my presentation “Attracting Pollinators” at the 3/8/2025 Shasta Master Gardener Spring Workshop. Click here for the full version.
Approximately 75% of the world’s flowering plants and about 35% of the world’s food crops rely on animal pollinators, like bees, to reproduce. If we did not have pollinators, we would lose about three-quarters of the plants on earth. The food web would collapse.
The animal pollinators seek the pollen that consists of protein, fats, starch, vitamins and minerals, and the nectar that consists of carbohydrates (energy) and amino acid proteins.
Pollinator gardens are habitat gardens that provide resources for pollinators. If you provide food (pollen, nectar), water, shelter, and a place to raise the young, you are well on your way to attracting pollinators. Large or small, you do the best you can.
The main concept is the more flowering plants blooming, the more pollinator food available, and subsequently the more pollinators.
Important Considerations:
1. A diversity of plants will attract a diversity of pollinators - Pollinators have preferences for certain plant types and flower structure. Choose flowers of different colors, fragrances, shapes, sizes, and bloom season.
2. Provide year-round blooms, especially from late winter/early spring (Feb-March) to early fall (October-November). Staggered blooms ensure food for each pollinator’s unique season.
3. Maintain flowers – Choose plants with long-lasting blossoms. Organic fertilizers, compost, and compost tea can boost blooming period. Regular watering during the blooming season. Deadhead most flowers.
4. Plant in Groups or Patches – Shoot for a 4 x 4 foot area of the same plant species. Bees visit only one or two types of flowers each time they go out foraging.
5. Native plants are best – Pollinator emergence and life cycles are often synchronized with their preferred plants’ flowering patterns. Native bees forage on native plants more frequently than on non-native plants.
6. Pollinators typically feed in the sun – Sun 6-8 hrs./day is preferred. Plant flowers that tolerate the sun and heat. Think of climate-adapted plants.
7. Many herbs and annuals are very good for pollinators. Mint, oregano, garlic, chives, parsley and lavender. Zinnias, cosmos, and single sunflowers support bees and butterflies.
8. Avoid Pesticides – They kill pollinators and other beneficial insects. Consider a higher tolerance for “not perfect.” When needed, use Integrated Pest Management (recently updated to Sustainable Pest Management).
9. Provide homes for pollinators – Provide nesting materials – mud, plant leaves, and resins. For example - Mason bee species = Osmia spp. need mud.
Pollinators are attracted mainly by visual cues (flower color and shape) and olfactory cues (floral scent) that guide insects to flowers.
The Pollinators:
1. Bees – The most important pollinator. They have a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and lifestyles to go along with flowers of different colors, fragrances, shapes, and sizes. Bees see in the ultraviolet spectrum. They see purple, yellow and white the best. They see patterns of spots and lines, in addition to UV, that direct bees to the nectar within the flower. There is only one honey bee (European) and about 1,600 species of native bees in California
Honey bee – They are social insects, visit a wide range of host flowers, and forage through all four seasons. A water source is necessary for honeybees but not for native bees.
Native bees - Bumble bees and some sweat bees are social insects, whereas the other native bees are solitary bees.
They have more specific relationships with plant types and groups than honey bees.
Native bees are active from Feb-March to Oct-November.
Soil-nesting bees – 70 percent of CA native bees are solitary ground nesters requiring patches of bare soil in the sun or light leaf litter.
Cavity-nesting and crevice-nesting bees – 15 to 20 percent of CA native bees. They lay their eggs in hollow sticks, abandoned beetle galleries, tree cavities, reeds, bamboo sections, crevices, and drilled holes in wood blocks.
The remainder are “cuckoo” bees that co-opt other nests.
2. Butterflies – Not as efficient pollinators as bees, however they look stunning.
They have good vision and are attracted to bright colors, especially red, pink, purple, yellow, and orange. They see ultraviolet colors and therefore nectar guides.
Provide various flowers for nectar that bloom upon butterfly emergence in spring and from late summer to early fall when they are most abundant.
They like sweet-smelling, clustered flowers that provide a good landing platform.
The host plants for butterfly larvae (caterpillars) are critically important. Eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the host plant until ready to pupate.
“Puddling” in damp soil or mud provides butterflies with both the moisture and minerals they need to stay healthy.
3. Moths – Mostly evening fliers.
They are attracted to flowers that are typically white or pale red, purple, and pink.
They are attracted to sweet-smelling flowers for nectar from late afternoon, night, and early morning bloomers.
Moths are hairier, have stouter bodies, and are less colorful than butterflies.
4. Hummingbirds - Most prominent pollinating birds in North America.
They sip nectar, but eighty percent of their diet during the nesting season is spiders and insects for the protein.
Bright colored red, scarlet, orange, and white tubular flowers with a large amount of nectar and little to no scent. They also see ultraviolet colors.
If you go the feeder route, replenish food and clean the feeder every 2-3 days during hot weather to prevent disease: 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Honey or increased sugar could be fatal. Red dye is discouraged. Clean with hot, soapy water, and rinse with hot/boiling water.
5. Bats – They are nocturnal pollinators that are attracted to light-colored flowers that open at night and produce copious amounts of pollen and nectar.
6. Flies – They are important because they visit a wide variety of plants (generalists) looking mostly for nectar. Flies primarily pollinate small flowers that bloom under shade and in seasonally moist habitats.
7. Beetles – Few are pollinators or efficient pollinators. They wander between flowers to sip nectar or feed on the flower parts, often dropping pollen as they go. Beetle-pollinated plants tend to be large, strong-scented flowers.
Resources for Pollinators:
Food – Nectar, pollen, and overripe fruit.
Water - Pollinators need a clean, reliable source of water.
Ensure the water sources have a shallow or sloping side so the pollinators can easily approach the water without drowning. Small rocks or pebbles work well.
Ensure water sources are scattered throughout the landscape.
Shelter - Pollinators need protection from severe weather and from predators.
Incorporate different canopy layers in the landscape by planting trees, shrubs, and different-sized perennial plants.
Leave dead snags for bee nesting sites and other wildlife. Leave the leaves for larvae, pupae, and other insects.
Further Considerations:
Specialized cultivars sometimes are not used by pollinators. Flowers that have been drastically altered, such as double flowers or a completely different color than the wild species, often prevent pollinators from finding and feeding on the flowers.
Be wary of fancy hybrids that may produce little pollen or nectar.
Keep a simple notebook or journal of when and what comes to your garden.
Watch for activity throughout the day and the seasons.
Determine when you need additional flowers to provide nectar and pollen during the different seasons.
Add plants that provide additional seasonal blooms, create variable heights for shelter, and attract the types of pollinators you want.
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