Pollinator of the Month
Pollinator of the Month highlights the interdependency of certain species of native North American wildflowers and their animal pollinators. Most plants have a flower morphology, color, blooming period, and/or scent that will attract a particular type of pollinator to reap its food rewards of nectar and pollen.
For some species, the co-evolved relationship between plant and pollinator can be so interconnected that the disappearance of one can signal the extinction of the other. Likewise, efforts to conserve or restore plant communities should pay special attention to the needs of the pollinators associated with those plants in order to promote long-term success.
Pollinator of the Month demonstrates the beautiful dance between native plants and their pollinators found in a variety of ecosystems across the United States.
Bats
Lesser Long-nosed Bat (Leptonycteris curasaoae yerbabuenae)
Mexican Long-Tongued Bat (Choeronycteris mexicana)
Bees
Alkali Bee (Nomia melanderi)
American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)
Miner Bee (Anthophora abrupta)
Rusty-patched Bumblebee (Bombus affinis)
Arctic Bumblebee (Bombus polaris)
Bumblebees
Carpenter Bees
Centris pallida
Franklin's Bumble Bee (Bombus franklini)
Globe Mallow Bee
Halictid Bees
Leaf Cutting Bees
Blue Orchard Mason Bee (Osmia lignaria)
Orchid Bees (The Euglossines)
Orchid Bee - (Eulaema meriana)
Perdita minima
Pure Golden Green Sweat Bee (Augochlora pura)
Rose-mallow Bee
Sonoran Bumblebee (Bombus sonorus)
Squash Bees
Yellow-Faced Bee (Hylaeus spp.)
Wool Carder Bee (Anthidium maculosum)
Beetles
Glorious Scarab Beetle (Plusiotis gloriosa)
Valley Elderberry Long Horned Beetle (Desmocerus californicus dimorphus)
Birds
Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
ʻIʻiwi (Vestiaria coccinea)
Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Butterflies
Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton)
Bog Copper (Lycaena epixanthe)
Bog Elfin (Callophrys lanoraieensis)
California Dogface (Zerene eurydice)
Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly (Phoebis sennae)
Hoary Elfin (Callophrys polios)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
Fritillary
Karner Blue Butterfly
Monarch Butterfly
Pipevine Swallowtail
(Battus philenor)
Red Admiral Butterfly
Zebra Longwing Butterfly
Flies
Bee Flies (Bombylius spp.)
Drone Flies
Flower Flies
Syrphid fly (Sphaerophoria philanthus)
Moths
Columbine Duskywing (Erynnis lucilius)
Hawk Moths
Hummingbird Moth
Owlet Moth (Mesogona olivata)
Yucca Moths
Mosquitos
Aedes communis: The Pollinating Mosquito
Wasps
Blue Mud Wasp (Chalybion californium)
Fig Wasps
Pollen Wasps
White-Striped Black Mason Wasp (Pseudodynerus quadisectus)