Valuable Tools for Pollinator Conservation from Passionate People

Bee City USA regularly adds links to resources to help raise awareness and enhance habitats. Resources range from books to movies, websites, brochures and curriculum.

The Xerces Society's Pollinator Conservation Resource Center  includes regional information on plants for pollinator habitat enhancement, habitat conservation guides, nest management instructions, and directories of native pollinator plant nurseries.​

On this page

>  Plant Selection
>  Federal Initiatives
>  ​Pollinator Identification
>  Native Pollinator Habitats
>  Pesticides and Pollinators
>  Documentaries
​>  Books
​>  Pollen & Nectar Sources
>  Farmers Markets Posters & Scavenger Hunt Kit
​>  Pollinator Garden Certification Programs
​​

 

Plant Selection Guidance

• The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation: Fact Sheets/Plant Guides.
• 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, by the Xerces Society.
• Audubon Society Native Plant Finder.
• National Wildlife Federation Native Plant Finder.
• USDA Plants Database.
• Ecoregional Revegetation Application
• Native Trees Spreadsheet - This data is a portion of a national native plant database for restoration practitioners (http://www.nativerevegetation.org/era/) that Xerces contributed pollinator data to, as part of a project with FHWA, USFS, and others. It is a nearly comprehensive Excel spreadsheet of trees native to the United States with columns for pollinator usage; salt, drought and fire tolerance; browsing/grazing risk; and commercial availability. The "workhorse" column refers to trees known to establish well, that are readily used by revegetation experts. They receive a "workhorse/pollinator" designation if they are "workhorses" AND support pollinators. 
• The Pollinator Partnership's planting guides for ecoregions across America as well as free phone app: www.pollinator.org.
• Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide, by Heather Holm.
• Bringing Nature Home: A Case for Native Gardening.
• Pollinator-Friendly Seeds and Nursery Directory from Beyond Pesticides.
• Recommended Native Pollinator Friendly [Wildflower] Planting List for the Greater Asheville, NC, Area ​(Updated 6/2/17). Sortable Excel file.
• Recommended Native Pollinator Friendly [Trees, Shrubs & Vines] Planting List for Greater Asheville, NC, Area (Updated 6/2/17).
• To create a list that is native to your area, follow the instructions at "Create Habitat."
• Heather Holms' Pollinator Plant Posters to download
• Introduced, Invasive and Noxious Plants (USDA site)

 

Federal Initiatives

• National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honeybees and Other Pollinators.
• Presidential Memorandum--Creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.
• Fact Sheet: The Economic Challenge Posed by Declining Pollinator Populations.
• U S Fish & Wildlife Service Save the Monarchs site​.
• Pollinators on the Endangered Species List.

 

Pollinator Identification

This beautiful poster from the Pollinator Partnership and the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign illustrates some of the 3600 species of native bees in the United States. Click here for a full description of each bee and flower shown on the poster.

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• Attracting Native Pollinators, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies, The Xerces Society Guide.
• Bee Basics, An Introduction to Our Native Bees (This USDA Forest Service & Pollinator Partnership booklet is no longer in print, but you can download this valuable resource)
• INaturalist App
• SEEK App (Free and very easy to use with immediate reward!)
• Be a Friend to Pollinators (NRCS Brochure)
• Wild Bee ID App
• The Bees in Your Backyard, by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia J.Messinger Carrill.
• Backyard Bees of North America Poster by Joseph S. Wilson and Olivia J.Messinger Carrill.
• For help identifying pollinators through photographs, go to Bug Guide.net.
• USDA's basic introduction to distinguishing pollinators from other insects.
• Butterflies and Moths of North America (Bamona).
• Bumble Bees of the Eastern United States, a 104-page guide by the USDA Forest Service and the Pollinator Partnership. 
• Bumble Bees of the Western United States.
• Bees: A Natural History and Bees of the World, by Christopher O'Toole.
• Bees, An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide, by Heather Holm.
• Common Bee Pollinators of Oregon Crops, Oregon Department of Agriculture.
• Heather Holm's Pollinator Posters to download

 

Native Pollinator Habitats

• Bring Back the Pollinators, The Xerces Society.
• Resources for Creating Roadside Habitat from Xerces Society.
• US Fish & Wildlife Service , especially booklet: Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden.
• Roadside Best Management Practices that Benefit Pollinators, Federal Highway Administration.
• Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden in Pittsboro, NC (Click on Pollinator Paradise Demonstration Garden link). 
• Pollinator Pathways in Seattle.
• Penn State University’s Center for Pollinator Research, Master Gardener “Pollinator Friendly Garden Certification Program.” 
• Pollination Wunder Station and Other Installations In "Resonating Bodies" Exhibit, Toronto (2008).

​Monarch Habitat Resources

• Monarch Joint Venture.
• Monarch Conservation, The Xerces Society.
• Monarch Watch: Education outreach, butterfly tagging and waystation program; to purchase a monarch way-station seed kit, go to shop.monarchwatch.org.
• Monarch Joint Venture and US Fish & Wildlife Service Webinar Series on monarch biology, monitoring and conservation.
• Journey North: A citizen science initiative to document sightings of monarchs at each stage of their migration and life cycle, as well as hummingbirds.
• Planting Tropical Milkweed Where It Is a Non-Native Is Killing Monarch Butterflies.
• The Monarchs Are Missing, A Butterfly Mystery by Rebecca E. Hirsch  This is an easy-to-read, comprehensive introduction to monarch conservation.

Phenology

• ​​Nature's Notebook: Phenology Visualization Tool.

Vertical Divider

Journey North map of monarch spring & fall migrations

 

Pesticides and Pollinators

• Xerces Society's report on the effects neonicotinoid insectides have on pollinators & other beneficial insects.
• Xerces Society database on impacts of pesticides on invertebrates (summaries of research articles).
• ​USDA Agroforestry Notes 35: Pesticide Considerations for Native Bees in Agroforestry.
• National Pesticide Information Center, 800-858-7378.
• Pesticide-free Yellow Jacket Wasp Extermination and video.
• Least toxic integrated pest management (Northeast IPM, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Beyond Pesticides).
• Evaluating Pesticide Risk: Bee Precaution Pesticide Rating and Pesticide Risk Tool.
• Takoma Park, MD, passes first municipal pesticide ban in US.
• State Preemption Laws: A Beyond Pesticides Factsheet that explains only 9 states allow municipalities to regulate private use of pesticides, however, all municipalities have the right to ban or limit pesticide use on their own property.

 

Documentaries and You Tube videos about Bees and Other Pollinators

• Flight of the Butterflies
• The hidden beauty of pollination, by Louie Schwartzberg, Documentary clip of DisneyNature movie, Wings of Life.
• Wings of Life
• The Guardians, a documentary film about the Mexican families that protect the Eastern monarchs' overwintering sanctuaries
• Nature: Silence of the Bees (PBS Documentary, 2008)
• Sex, Lies and Butterflies (PBS/Nature)
• The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies (PBS/Nova)
• Whole Foods Share the Buzz You Tube video.
• Why Bees Are Disappearing: Marla Spivak's Ted Talk.
• A Ghost in the Making: Searching for the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, by Clay Bolt.
• The Solitary Bees.
• What’s Killing Our Bees, BBC Documentary.
• Hometown Habitat, Stories of Bringing Nature Home.
• People, Plants and Pollinators  (Pollinators of East Africa) from NatGEO LIVE.
• How Do Bees Make Honey? (PBS production).
• Pollinators Under Pressure, and How to Help Them.
• Bring Back the Monarchs An educational project for young and old, Black Mountain, NC, 2015
• Squash Bee Natural History
• Scottish woman befriends wingless bumble bee (4 minutes)

PBS Digital Library Deep Look Videos

• Watch This [Mason] Bee Build Her Bee-Jeweled Nest | Deep Look
• This [Alfalfa Leafcutting] Bee Gets Punched by Flowers for Your Ice Cream | Deep Look
• [Buzz Pollination] This Vibrating Bumblebee Unlocks a Flower's Hidden Treasure | Deep Look.
• Why Is The Very Hungry Caterpillar So Dang Hungry? | Deep Look

 

Books About Native Bees, Other Pollinators, & Gardening for Pollinators

• Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Society
• 100 Plants to Feed the Bees by the Xerces Society
• Gardening for Butterflies by the Xerces Society
• Bringing Nature Home by Douglas Tallamy
• The Bees in Your Backyard by Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia Messinger Carrill
• Our Native Bees by Paige Embry
• Bees: An Identification and Native Plant Forage Guide by Heather Holm
• Pollinators of Native Plants by Heather Holm
• The Life Cycles of Butterflies by Judy Burris & Wayne Richards
• Bumble Bees of North America by Paul Williams, Robbin Thorp, Leif Richardson & Shelia Colla​
• On Meadowview Street (Children's book and creating habitat in your yard)

 

Pollen & Nectar Plant Lists for Pollinators

• List of Pollen Sources by Season
• ​Pollinator Attractiveness of Agricultural Crops (Lists of foods and their pollinators starts on page 9)

 

Farmers Market Posters & Scavenger Hunt Kit (For Foods That Benefit from Animal Pollinators)

Farmers Market Scavenger Hunt Instructions (contains instructions for making antennae & wings and using pollinator antennae, which are also offered separately below)
Antennae & Wings Instructions
Pollinator Antennae Poster--How to use
Half-Page Scavenger Hunt Instructions ( check-off list for kids)
Thank You Pollinators! Vendor Cards
​Foods Pollinated by Animals (See more exhaustive lists in Pollen & Nectar section above)
Artwork for Posters:
Pollinator Antennae Poster 
Blue orchard mason bee Employ-bee (Shannon Groff/Carrboro, NC)
Blueberry bee Employ-bee (Shannon Groff/Carrboro, NC)
Bumble bee Employ-bee (Shannon Groff/Carrboro, NC)
Squash bee Employ-bee (Shannon Groff/Carrboro, NC)
Sweat bee Employ-bee (Shannon Groff/Carrboro, NC)
Market Offerings With/Without Pollinators (Shannon Groff/Carrboro, NC)
Pollinator Friendly gardens Megan McManamen and Alex Mansur, Gillette, WY
Foods and beverages Megan McManamen and Alex Mansur, Gillette, WY
90% of wild flowering plants Megan McManamen and Alex Mansur, Gillette, WY
1 in 3 bites Megan McManamen and Alex Mansur, Gillette, WY

 

Pollinator Garden Certification Programs

Why Certify Pollinator-Friendly Gardens?, Bee City USA blog 
Bee City USA® Sample Factoid Signs for Garden Tours
Penn State Pollinator Garden Certification Program
Monarchs Across Georgia Pollinator Habitat Certification Program
Bee City USA - Ashland, Oregon Pollinator Garden Certification Program
Bee City USA - Talent, Oregon Pollinator Garden Certification Program nomination form and worksheet