The Pollinator Bookshelf: Pollinators of Native Plants

November 30, 2022

Pollinator Bookshelf: Pollinators of Native PlantsThe Pollinator Bookshelf is features a new book/author recommendation each month.


In April of this year, the Pollinator Bookshelf featured the work, Attracting Native Pollinators (2011) by the Xerces Society—the first of its kind and a must-have reference book. Since then, Heather Holm has taken on and taken over the realm of native pollinator guides. She followed with her own works which have focused primarily on native bees. Her first book, Pollinators of Native Plants written in 2014, is the most comprehensive and includes the other pollinating insects such as butterflies, flies and beetles.

Pollinators of Native Plants is devoted primarily to plant-insect interactions. The heart of the book focuses on these interactions, the ones which observant gardeners are able to witness first hand in their own landscapes. If you want to see and learn about pollinators close up, plant a garden and get Heather Holm’s book to use as your bug guide. Another useful feature of this work is the excellent reference section. Here you can find charts and diagrams covering topics such as: native plant species flowering times (by month) and flowering duration; a visual glossary of plant parts and insect parts; a series of pollinator planting plans; and a visual index of pollinating insects.

Angela Sisson

Pollinators of Native Plants book cover featuring native flowers on blue background.Pollinators of Native Plants (2014)

(The following has been reprinted from Amazon.com)

This is the first comprehensive book to illustrate the specific relationships between native pollinators and native plants. Organized by plant communities, the book profiles over 65 perennial native plants of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and southern Canada and the pollinators, beneficial insects and flower visitors the plants attract.

With its easy-to-use format, the book provides the reader with information on how to attract, plant for and identify pollinators with native plants. Beautifully designed and illustrated with over 1600 photos of plants and insects, the book includes information on pollination, types of pollinators and beneficial insects, pollinator habitat and conservation as well as pollinator landscape plans.

This is an important book for gardeners, students, native plant enthusiasts, landscape restoration professionals, small fruit and vegetable growers and farmers who are interested in attracting, identifying, supporting or planting for pollinators.

(The following has been reprinted from pollinationpress.com)

A comprehensive book illustrating the specific relationships between native pollinators, beneficial insects, and native plants. Organized by plant communities, the book profiles over 65 perennial native plants of the Midwest, Great Lakes region, Northeast and southern Canada and the pollinators, beneficial insects and flower visitors the plants attract.

With its easy-to-use format, the book provides the reader with information on how to attract, plant for and identify pollinators with native plants. Beautifully designed and illustrated with over 1600 photos of plants and insects, the book includes information on pollination, types of pollinators and beneficial insects, pollinator habitat and conservation, as well as pollinator landscape plans.

Be sure to check out Heather’s other more recent books on pollinating insects including Bees (2017), Common Native Bees(2022), and Wasps (2021) written about in this New York Times article by Margaret Roach:

Why You Should Plant a Garden That’s Wasp Friendly

For more information about the Wallkill Valley Pollinator Pathway and how to join, visit:

https://wallkillvalleylt.org/pp/

Or contact:

pollinators@wallkillvalleylt.org

If you’d like more information about the Wallkill Valley Pollinator Pathway or about pollinator meadows, visit: https://wallkillvalleylt.org/pp/ OR contact Angela Sisson at: pollinators@wallkillvalleylt.org

Joining the pathway is easy—just start doing these three things:

  1. Start planting native species,
  2. Start removing invasive species, and
  3. Avoid pesticides, especially insecticides.

Go to: wallkillvalleylt.org/pp/join-pollinator-pathway/

 

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