Overview of Native Pollinators

Native pollinators are insects and animals, such as bees, butterflies, beetles, and certain types of birds, that have evolved over time alongside native plants. In New York State, there are over 450 wild bee species, including six of the seven families of bees recognized worldwide. The majority of the state’s native bees are solitary and ground-nesting, meaning that they don’t live in hives like honey bees do. These bees can typically only fly small distances to find food, so they need to be close to pollinator-friendly plants to survive. New York State is also home to stem-nesting and cavity-nesting bees, as well as a variety of other other pollinators. Pollinators are usually grouped into two main categories:

1. Generalist pollinators, or species that visit many different types of plants. Because these pollinators are not restricted to certain species, they are able to forage more freely and for a longer period of time throughout the year than specialist pollinators. While this is the most common type of pollinator, because they forage on a wider variety of plants, there may be less of a chance for pollen of the same species to fertilize each other, which is what many plants need to reproduce. Generalist pollinators include carpenter bees, as well as the non-native honeybee.
2. Specialist pollinators, or species that have evolved to have a specific relationship with the pollen of one type of plant. Specialist pollinators’ lifecycles are synced closely with these plants: the pollinators emerge from their nests at the same time the plants on which they rely begin to flower. Some pollinators may completely rely on a certain species of plant for pollen and nectar, and some plants require a certain pollinator to reproduce. Because of this, specialist pollinators are more vulnerable to changes in the local landscape. Specialist pollinators include mason bees and resin bees.

Protecting Monarch Butterflies 

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are one of the most widely recognized and beloved pollinators in North America. Distinguishable by their vivid orange and black markings, monarchs are more than just beautiful to look at – they also play an important role in pollinating many types of native plants in the region. 

Monarchs live in a variety of habitats across most of North America, including grasslands, meadows, and prairies. While monarchs rely on milkweed to lay their eggs, they can feed on the nectar of numerous native plants, such as Eastern purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), Spotted Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum), Stiff goldenrod (Oligoneuron rigidum), Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta), and varieties of asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), amongst others.  

These plants provide important fuel for monarchs’ long migration south. Each fall, monarchs leave cooler, northern climates, traveling as far as 3,000 miles to overwinter in places such as Mexico and California. Some monarchs travel up to 100 miles per day to reach their overwinter destinations! Monarchs only live between four to five weeks on average, so it will be the descendants of these initial butterflies will make the journey back north in the spring – the only species of butterfly known to make a two-way migration. 

Beyond native plants, monarch butterflies rely on milkweed (Asclepias spp.), their host plant, for survival across their life cycles. Monarchs can only lay their eggs on milkweed and – while adults monarchs can feed on nectar from a variety of plants – monarch caterpillars can only feed on milkweed leaves. Though milkweed is toxic to other pollinator species, because of this unique plant-pollinator relationship, monarch caterpillars are immune to milkweed toxins. Feeding on milkweed provides the young caterpillars with a defense mechanism, making them unpalatable to predators. As monarch caterpillars begin to grow, milkweed also serves as an important source of fuel as adult monarchs prepare for their winter migration. 

Despite their importance, monarch populations are declining rapidly across North America. Scientists estimate that monarch populations have declined up to 90 percent in the past 20 years alone! The decline in monarch populations is due to a variety of reasons. For example, the butterfly’s winter habitat in Mexico and California is decreasing rapidly because of deforestation and development. Elsewhere, milkweed plant populations are declining due to industrialization, poor land management, and extreme weather events, placing monarchs at risk. 

Providing monarch butterflies with habitats and food sources is critical for their conservation. You can help protect this important species of pollinator by: 

• Planting or maintaining native milkweeds, which serve as host plants for monarch caterpillars 
• Providing native pollinator plants that bloom in late summer/early fall to provide nectar as food for adult monarchs 

If you’re currently practicing these actions to protect monarch butterflies in your garden, yard, or habitat, you can complete our Monarch Habitat form and receive a digital Monarch Habitat badge!

You can use the resources below to learn more about native pollinators that you can help protect by planting native species for your native pollinator garden:

• Understanding Bee Diversity in New York, Cornell University: information on the bees of New York State, including both managed and wild bee species, as well as a complete list of all bee species present in the state
• Creating a Pollinator Garden for Native Specialist Bees, Cornell Botanic Gardens: information on how to plan and prepare your native pollinator garden specifically for native specialist bees in New York State, including an in-depth list of pollinator-friendly native plants specific to our region
• The Empire State Native Pollinator Survey (2017-2021), New York Natural Heritage Program: an in-depth report on various pollinator species, including bees, beetles, and moths, in New York State, with a specific focus on determining native species’ conservation status
• New York State Pollinator Protection Plan, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation: created in 2016 to detail threats to and best management practices for both wild and managed (e.g. honeybee) pollinator populations in the state