Maine's butterflies and bees need your help!?
Monarch butterfly in field of wild flowers. Photo by Kelly Boland
Maine is home to a wide diversity of native insect pollinators, including many species of butterflies and moths, bees, beetles, and flies. The ecosystem services that these wild pollinators provide to natural communities and human societies is immeasurable. Without them, many wildflowers, shrubs, and trees, as well as fruits and vegetables, would not get pollinated, including important Maine crops like apples and blueberries.
Over the past few decades, several native Maine pollinators, including the monarch butterfly, rusty patched bumble bee, and hourglass drone fly have experienced significant declines throughout their ranges. Factors including habitat loss, disease, pesticides, competition from introduced species, and climate change have put these and other insect pollinators in danger of extirpation.
We can all help reverse the decline by protecting pollinator habitats. Here are a few ways to do so:
?
 |
|
Invite Summer Monarchs ? Providing summer habitat for monarch butterflies is as simple as allowing common milkweed, the sole host plant for their caterpillars and a valuable nectar source, to grow and flourish. Many other beneficial insects in Maine also feed at milkweed flowers.
?
|
 |
|
Create a Bumble Bee Haven ? Bumble bees are habitat generalists, but they require an abundance and diversity of flowering plants that offer food from early spring to late fall. You can help by including an assortment of preferred pollinator flowers among your plantings during every part of the growing season. |
 |
|
Embrace Your Wild Side ? Some of the best habitats for pollinators are ?weedy? fields and roadsides which are rich in pollinator favorites like clover, milkweed, goldenrod, thistle, lupine, and raspberries. You can replicate this at home by allowing a portion of your lawn to grow tall until late fall. In spring, waiting two to three weeks between mowings will allow clovers, violets, and dandelions to bloom - providing pollinators with their first available nectar sources of the season. |
 |
|
Plant a Pollinator Garden ? Many common garden plants are especially attractive to butterflies, bumble bees, and other insect pollinators. Examples of favorites that are easily grown in Maine include bee balm, butterflyweed, sunflower, coneflower, thyme, mint, rhododendron, blueberry, and rose, but there are many more from which to choose. Use native plant species as often as possible. |
 |
|
Avoid Chemical Herbicides and Pesticides ? Herbicides kill many of the flowering plants that pollinators feed on, and insecticides can kill bees and other insect pollinators ? either directly or by affecting their abilities to forage, reproduce, or care for their colonies. There are safer alternatives that can still help you manage plant diseases and insect pests around your home and garden. Use native plant species as often as possible and be sure to select nursery plants and seeds that have not been treated with pesticides. |
|
