Tag | Xerces Society

Habitat

Xerces yard signs in front of a home garden, with fallen leaves on the ground. One reads "Leave the Leaves", while the second, in Spanish, reads "Las Hojas son Vitales".

Leave the Leaves for Natural Pest Control

Fallen leaves provide year-round habitat for all sorts of beneficial insects that eat pests in your yard!

A queen bumble bee looks for a spot within a thick leaf cover.

Leave the Leaves!

One of the most valuable ways to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the shelter they need to survive the winter. Thankfully, all you need to do is do less yard work.

A large fluffy bee drinking from a shallow pool of water

If You’re Thirsty, They’re Thirsty: Make a Simple Water Source To Support Pollinators

Even a humble puddle can make a big impact for your backyard wildlife. Learn how to make one that fits your space.

A hedgerow along a gravel driveway, with many yellow flowers.

All About Hedgerows: Why They Help Wildlife and How to Plant Them

Hedgerows are more than just a living fence! With the right plants, they can be an incredible habitat for pollinators.

A brilliant magenta flower stands in front of a black charred tree trunk. The forest has some live and dead conifer trees with a forest floor covered in white and yellow flowers with lots of leafy green growth with a few large black charred tree trunks laying down.

Burning for Butterflies: The Role of Fire in Western Forests

While it may seem counterintuitive to burn plants and trees to conserve wildlife, smaller fires are an essential element of many habitats, like ponderosa pine forests.

A sign reads "Leave the Leaves" surrounded by violets, leaf litter, and shrubbery

Put Down Those Pruners: Pollinators Need Your ‘Garden Garbage!’

When you "tidy up" at the end of the season, you're destroying much-needed winter cover for bees, butterflies, birds, and tons of other wildlife.

Four people, two white and two black, holding shovels and smiling while standing in front of several freshly planted native flowers. Behind them tarps protect a small plot of crops.

Inspiration for Pollinator Conservation: Habitat Kits for Urban Farms and Gardens

Stefanie Steele shares her path to pollinator conservation, and her work to help urban farmers add pollinator habitat to their spaces!

A stream winding past a livestock pasture. The stream is surrounded by planted tree saplings and small shrubs so that the bare pasture does not reach the stream.

Inspiration for Pollinator Conservation: Protecting Waterways with Pollinator Habitat

Julie Michaelson shares her path to pollinator conservation, and her work to build habitat and protect our waterways by surrounding them with native plants!

A hedgerow planted to provide habitat for pollinators and other beneficial insects on a farm. All the species in the hedgerow were chosen because they also provide fruit, flowers, or some other product that is edible.

Inspiration for Pollinator Conservation: Hedgerow Habitat on Farms

Angie Orpet talks about her career path, and her work building pollinator habitat on farms!

Looking from a wetland and natural area in a park out into the surrounding streets. Many of the houses have unnecessary lighting in their backyards that throw light far into the wetlands. Instead of darkness, the sky behind the lights is a bright grey, blocking out all but the brightest stars, which are just barely visible.

To Protect Pollinators, We Need to Fight Light Pollution

Just as water pollution makes every drink dangerous, light pollution puts nocturnal bugs at risk.

A grove of young chestnut trees, about 8ft tall, planted in neat rows within a large forest clearing. Two people are knelt by one tree, inspecting it.

Working With Land Trusts To Create and Conserve Habitat Across New England

Erin Cocca shares her experience helping Maine’s Orono Land Trust with their conservation efforts.

Several flowering perennial plants along the edge of a sidewalk.

They Go with Everything: Even a Small Patch of Native Wildflowers Makes a Difference

Jennifer Hopwood shares how adding even a few plants is the perfect complement to the other habitat features of your yard, garden, or balcony.

A bee emerging from its nest entrance, which has been dug into sandy soil. The bee has a black body covered all over in short blonde fur.

Clear Space for Bees: Why Pollinators in Your Yard Need Access To Bare Ground

Open patches of soil and sand, with few or no plants, are a key nesting habitat for the majority of native bees, and easy for us to provide.

A mining bee peeking its fuzzy head out of its burrow, dug out of soil directly under a stone. The bee is covered in orange fluffy fur. Numerous other beneficial insects also make their homes in gaps or burrows dug out from the soil under a stone.

Wildlife on the Rocks: Providing the Rocky Habitats Bugs Need for Shelter

Rock piles and stone walls might seem like they take yard space away from plants, but these features are crucial to support a diverse wildlife community.

A bright metallic green bee peeking its head out of a round hole in a mossy log. Once, a beetle excavated this tunnel, on its way out from the fallen log that it had lived inside as a larva. Now, the bee has remodeled the tunnel for its nest.

Tiny Places for Tiny Animals: Building the Microhabitats that Bugs Need to Thrive

It’s easy to add small features, like a brush pile, dead stems, or a leafy corner that can make a big difference for wildlife! Here's how.

Why Monarchs Need Early-Season Milkweeds

Western monarchs need milkweed for breeding as soon as they leave their overwintering sites. That's why we partnered on a project to make early-season native milkweed more available in California.

Volunteers weeding in a People's Garden in the Bronx

Planting for Bees, Butterflies, and Beauty in the Bronx

Two urban farms in the Bronx demonstrate a symbiotic relationship between people and pollinators. Communities at the Garden of Happiness and Tawqua Community Farm restore quality pollinator habitat and pollinators keep the gardens thriving and producing.

Cover crop blooms in an orchard (Photo: Xerces Society)

More Than Food: A New Roadmap for Agriculture

In recent years, invertebrates on farms have received a little more mainstream attention, often under the broader umbrella of “regenerative agriculture,” a loosely defined philosophy that proposes farms should improve rather than diminish natural resources. With supporting investments from the USDA National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Xerces Society recently inaugurated a five-year, multi-state research and development project focused on evaluating conservation practices that simultaneously maximize climate resilience, biodiversity, and market incentives.

Santa Fe Extension Master Gardeners and the habitat kits they are about plant at the Santa Fe County Extension Office Demonstration Gardens. The eighteen species in the kits are native, climate-resilient species which will support a diversity of native pollinators across seasons. (Photo: Kaitlin Haase / Xerces Society)

Conserving Desert Pollinators and Water in the Face of Climate Change

One of the most immediate and tangible ways we can prepare for climate change as individuals is to restore native habitat. This not only builds a greater buffer for plants and animals to survive changing conditions, but makes our own gardens and landscapes more prepared to withstand drier or wetter, hotter or colder weather. While it will take everyone to stop rising temperatures at a global scale, I find hope in the cultivation of little patches of earth throughout Santa Fe hosting pollinator habitat kits.

Man poses with California Habitat Kit plants in truck during pickup. Credit: Angela Laws.

Meet the Partners Saving Pollinators with Xerces’ California Habitat Kits

Over the past three years, Xerces’ California Habitat Kit program has given away over 105,000 plants to partners all across California who are interested in creating habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. We’ve been able to work with some really great people as part of this program who have helped to create habitat in a variety of landscapes.

New Roots Community Farm in New York City (Photograph by Dina Garcia).

Habitat Kits: Partnering to Support Monarchs and Pollinators

Since 2019, the Xerces Society Habitat Kit Program has united Xerces, local residents, and native-plant nurseries to offer regionally appropriate plant materials grown to order by nurseries and supplied to our community partners. In return community members provide sweat equity: the time, the labor, and land. The habitat kits not only help people plant and nurture habitats that support monarchs and other pollinators, but they also remove financial barriers for groups and individuals who want to help.

A photo of a desert landscape. In the background, brown hills dotted with green shrbs rise toward the blue sky. In the foreground, flowers are in bloom. A row of low shrubs coverd in white flowers stretches away from the viewer toward a clump of short trees.

Climate News: Nature-Based Climate Solutions Address Climate Change and Support Pollinators

Habitat restoration can contribute to countering climate change. Native trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses increase carbon sequestration, while also providing habitat for butterflies and bees.

In the middle of the photo is the purple flower of a tiny wild pansy. The pansy is growing the decaying stems of bushes that were cut down.

The Return of Wild Pansies at Polk City Cemetery

In Iowa, volunteers are working hard to restore an area of old prairie. They are seeing signs that the grassland is recovering, including the regrowth of pale coneflowers and wild pansies.

A flower bed beside a street in a downtown. The flowers include purple asters and yellow coneflowers. Behind are large mirrored glass windows of a store, which reflect the buildings opposite.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – July 2021

In July's Pollinator Team Digest, Sarah Hamilton Buxton describes a multi-organization collaboration bringing pollinator plantings to the heart of Bismarck, ND, and Jennifer Hopwood introduces the amazing life beneath our feet that is at the center of a new conservation initiative focused on soil life.

Wildflowers grow beside a quite rural road. The most abundant plant has small gray-green leaves that grow on horizontal branches and a clyster of long, narrow spikes of dark purple flowers at the top of the stem

Pollinators Find a Home on Roadsides

State Departments of Transportation manage millions of acres of land and have an opportunity to make a significant difference for pollinators. Roadsides provide pollinator habitat, as well as connectivity across otherwise inhospitable landscapes -- and may be home to native plant communities that can no longer be found in surrounding lands.

Gently undulating rangeland stretches to the horizon. The silver-grey leaves of plants show between the green grass. In the distance a cluster of farm buildings sit in the shelter of trees. Brown and black cattle graze.

Great Plains Rangelands Are Important Habitat for Pollinators

Rangelands of the Great Plains are a highly diverse—and endangered—ecosystem filled with subtle beauty that is often underappreciated. These landscapes evolved with natural disturbances, such as grazing and wildfire. Maintaining disturbance through active management is essential for healthy rangelands and pollinators.

several tall spikes of pink checkermallow flowers stand among a scattering of golden-orange flowers of California poppy in this garden. In the foreground, a bumble bee with a yellow head forages on a checkermallow

Pollinator Protection Starts at Home—and can Spread Faster than Weeds!

Something as simple as observing the bees and other pollinators in your garden is a wonderful way to celebrate Pollinator Week. Late June is a time when, across the county, bees and butterflies are emerging and making themselves known. It is also a great time to pledge to do more for all these amazing creatures.

A small group of young men and women work with shovels and other tools to care for a hedgerow

Xerces Society and the NRCS: 17 Years of Conservation Partnership

A chance meeting 17 years ago between a Xerces staffer and an NRCS biologist has blossomed into a nationwide partnership and resulted in the creation of more than 1,000,000 acres of habitat on the ground across the U.S.

A pollinator garden full of yellow-and-red and pink flowers. In the center is a sign that says "Pollinator Garden" and has colorful illustrations of flowers, butterflies, and bees.

Building Resilient Communities: Reflecting on a Year of Challenge and Opportunity for Bee City USA & Bee Campus USA

The accomplishments of Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA communities during the last year are a textbook example of resilience. Rather than canceling projects and activities, the committees adapted to the new conditions, finding ways to continue creating spaces for our ecological communities to do the same.

Four people stand behind a table laden with trays of small plants. They are holding plants and "pollinator habitat" signs ready for a day of hard work.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – June 2021

In this month's update from our pollinator conservation team, Kelly Gill reports on the successful distribution of habitat kits across a nine-state region of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and Sarah Foltz Jordan describes a multi-farm project to expand pollinator habitat in Wisconsin.

A super close-up photo of a bee shows every detail of its body. The bee is dark, almost black, and very shiny, with pale brown hairs on it's head and thorax. Its legs have patches of long, dense hairs in which it can carry pollen.

Wetlands as Pollinator Habitat

A bee that collects floral oils rather than nectar? Yes! The nude yellow loosestrife bee relies on a single species of wetland plant, fringed loosestrife, to supply its nest, demonstrating the importance of protecting, restoring, and managing wetland habitats.

A glow-worm with an elongated and segmented body of dark brown with pink stripes

Supporting Firefly Conservation from Coast to Coast

Late spring and early summer are synonymous with fireflies. Females perch on vegetation or sit on the ground while males take flight, flashing their abdomens and awaiting a response from below. For humans, it could just as well be a magic show, a glimmering peek at one of the great wonders of the natural world.

The long coiled body of a brown centipede shines against the dark soil

The Actual Earth of Earth Week

Soils support the most biologically rich animal communities on earth, outside of our oceans. A single cubic foot of tallgrass prairie soil may contain billions of organisms, and more species diversity than the entire above-ground Amazon rainforest. Yet we think little of this life.

A group of men and women stand in the middle of an old hayfield discussing plans for restoring wildflowers.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – March 2021

In our March 2021 Pollinator Team Digest, Alina Harris describes a community-based habitat project in New Hampshire to help monarch butterflies and other pollinators and Kaitlyn Haase shows the varied audiences and range of topics covered in recent webinars in the Southwest.

Orange-and-black monarch butterflies cling to the green branches of tress and fly in the blue sky

Monarch Numbers from Mexico Point to Declining Population

Surveys of monarch butterflies overwintering in central Mexico by World Wildlife Fund–Mexico found that the butterflies occupied an estimated 2.1 hectares of forest during the winter of 2020–21, approximately 26% less than the previous winter. Scientists estimate that 6 hectares are necessary to sustain the population.

The English countryside is a patchwork of woodlands and farm fields edged by hedgerows.

England’s Ancient Woodlands: Living Time Capsules

To many people, the roar of a chainsaw is a sound of alarm, not conservation. But for England’s surviving ancient woodlands, the chainsaw has become a valuable tool.

A Xerces blue butterfly resting on the green stems of deerweed

Xerces Turns Fifty: A Half Century of Ground-Breaking Conservation

This is a landmark year for the Xerces Society: 2021 is our 50th anniversary! The Xerces Society was founded in 1971 by Robert Michael Pyle and has grown from a volunteer-run group to an internationally respected organization and a trusted source of science-based information and advice.

Children cluster around a tabletop display as the author talks with families about pollinators and conservation.

Arrancando la Primera Iniciativa de Conservación de Polinizadores para el Centro de México

Héctor Ávila Villegas is working to promote pollinator conservation in Central Mexico. He has planned and implemented habitat projects and is engaged in public outreach. This blog is part two of his story.

Metallic green sweat bee drinking nectar from a pink flower. The bee is glittering with gold in the sunshine.

Bees of the Eastern Forests

Bees are generally thought of as creatures of open habitats, frequenting places with sunlight and plenty of flowers. But, given how much of the Eastern US was once blanketed in forests, shouldn’t there be some bee species that specialize on forest habitat? Research in New Jersey has shown that, indeed, many bees are forest associated, and that they are unlikely to persist in places where forests have been cleared.

The author, Héctor Ávila Villegas, stands beside a pollinator habitat strip full of pink, white, and yellow flowers

Conservación de Polinizadores en Aguascalientes, México

Over the last couple of years, Xerces Society staff have had the pleasure of supporting Héctor Ávila Villegas with his efforts to promote naturalized spaces that function as pollinator habitat and outreach in the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico.

Close-up of reddish-brown oak leaves scattered on the ground near the base of a fence

Leave the Leaves to Benefit Wildlife

For many people fall cleanup means cutting all the seed heads and stems off the flowers and raking up all of the leaves. This tidiness may look nice to us, but it is not good for all of the small creatures that live in and around your property. #leavetheleaves

In the center of a large pink-colored thistle bloom is a black and yellow bumble bee.

Standing Up for Native Thistles

Native thistles are beautiful, important wildflowers and yet, are frequently treated as weeds. In late 2018, we had an opportunity to give native thistles a boost in Iowa by urging changes to state noxious weeds code. Six months later we heard that the weed laws had been rewritten.

A man kneels beside a tray of wildflower seedlings, carefully removing each one in readiness for planting them.

Supporting Community Efforts to Create Monarch and Pollinator Habitat in California

Creating habitat in California is an essential step in recovering the monarch -- as well as to support the many other species of butterflies and bees in that state. Xerces worked with local native plant nurseries to create and distribute monarch and pollinator “habitat kits”, each with more than a thousand climate-smart, locally native plants -- enough to make a lasting impact for monarchs.

A group of farmers stand between a crop field and flowering meadow listening to a presenter speaking about how to plan habitat for insects.

On-farm habitat for beneficial insects provides multiple benefits

To help reverse insect declines, the Xerces Society has been working with farmers across Iowa to create a network of on-farm demonstration sites that showcase a wide variety of pollinator habitat options and installation methods. This project, supported by CIG funding from the Iowa NRCS, seeks to not only boost local insect populations on each individual farm, but also to design projects and test ideas that other farmers in the community and across the Midwest can learn from.

Patches of snow remain all year on the green grass slopes of the San Juan Mountains of Colorado

Nature-Based Solutions: A Win for Both Biodiversity and the Climate

Natural areas support wildlife during a time of shifting weather patterns, and they also help with carbon sequestration. Protecting and creating habitat should be an integral part of our response to climate change.

The hole in the end of this broken flower stem is filled with neatly cut pieces of leaf, a sure sign that a leafcutter bee has made a nest.

Moving Beyond Flowers: Natural Nesting Habitat for Bees and other Insects

When landscaping for pollinators, there’s a (very understandable) tendency to focus on flowers to provide pollen and nectar for bees and other insects. However, flowers, alone, aren’t enough. We also need to provide nesting and overwintering habitat.

A hairy, yellow-and-black bumble bee forages on a pink flower head of joe-pye weed.

Climate News Roundup: The Link Between Climate Change and Biodiversity

Addressing climate change and conserving biodiversity go hand-in-hand. Our ability to mitigate and adapt to climate change while retaining important ecosystem services such as pollination will depend on our ability to protect biodiversity. Meanwhile, because climate change accelerates biodiversity loss, our ability to protect biodiversity will also depend on how quickly and decisively we act on climate change.

This graphic depicts a Checklist of Actions to Promote Pollinators in Yards, Gardens, and Parks; a score sheet for your site; a plant list; and a phone displaying a photo of some flowering habitat in front of a small house.

How to Maximize Benefits to Pollinators in Cities and Towns

Pollinators are one of the easiest groups of declining animals to support in a residential landscape, since even small spaces have the potential to meet the most basic needs of the entire insect life cycle—and even simple changes to our landscaping can make a huge difference to these animals. Here at the Xerces Society, we recently created an Urban Habitat Assessment tool, designed to help you see your yard through the eyes of a pollinator, identify areas for improvement, and prioritize actions you can take to promote these insects in your yard and community.

A fuzzy, primarily yellow, bee flies towards a purple sprig of flowers. The bee and the flowers are in sharp focus. The background, made up of purples and reds, is blurred.

This Earth Week, Let's Bring Communities Together to Protect Pollinators

Bee City USA provides a framework for communities to work together to conserve native pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants, and free to nearly free of pesticides.

The cover of Dave Goulson's book, The Garden Jungle or Gardening to Save the Planet is shown. It has hand-painted illustrations of flowers and insects.

Earth Week Reading: Gardening to Save the Planet

Rich Hatfield, Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist, writes in this book review, "I was expecting The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet to be a great read, but for me it was more than that."

A small house with light paint and bright blue trim is dwarfed by the lush garden in the foreground, featuring flowers of a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.

12 Climate Actions for Earth Week

Some good news (amidst all the bad lately) is that even with physical distancing and shelter-in-place requirements, there are still a lot of actions many of us can take to help in the fight against climate change. Focusing on one or any combination of these actions can help.

A long line of people of diverse ages, genders, and races are all sporting bright yellow and black-striped bee outfits in an outdoor festival setting.

Evolution in Attitudes Leads to Greater Interest in Pollinator Conservation

Twenty years ago, being referred to as the “bee guy” wasn’t always positive. In contrast, today many people are keen to learn about what they can do to protect pollinators. We are proud to be part of the reason that the public has become more aware of, and engaged in, pollinator conservation.

A fuzzy bee with black and gray stripes gathers pollen in the middle of a purple flower.

Support Pollinator Conservation by Reducing or Eliminating Pesticide Use in Urban Environments

Our new fact sheet, Smarter Pest Management: Pollinator Protection for Cities and Campuses, outlines key steps to reduce or eliminate pesticide use in municipal parks, campuses, and other urban greenspaces.

A kid stands in a verdant landscape with blue sky. He is putting something into his mouth as he stands near a hedgerow with fruit and flowers on it.

Tu BiShvat, the New Year for Trees, Provides a Chance to Support Invertebrates

This ancient tradition fits into modern life—and invertebrate conservation efforts—perfectly. Modern festivities frequently focus on planting ecologically important trees and shrubs—such as pollinator-friendly or butterfly and moth host plants.

On a sunny day with blue sky, five people stand talking together in the foreground of a beautiful landscape. Behind them is a pear orchard, and beyond is the snow-covered, triangular form of Mt. Hood.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest - January 2020

January's featured staff members have been working with growers in one of Oregon's major fruit-producing regions, and training conservation professionals to assess and improve habitat in Wisconsin.

In this hand-drawn/hand-painted image, a grove of trees is shown, with a cut stump and a dead monarch with tattered wings in the foreground.

The Vanishing Butterfly Groves of California

The latest research suggests that the damage and loss of overwintering habitat is one of the primary drivers of the decline of western monarchs. Together, we can make overwintering site protection and management a reality.

A monarch clings to the trunk of a tree in a dimly-lit landscape.

Thanksgiving Count Shows Western Monarchs Need Our Help More than Ever

The western monarch population remains at a critical level. With some luck and a lot of hard work, we have hope that we can save this incredible migration.

A line of colorful, flowering plants, including a bush with red blossoms in the foreground, recedes into the distance. Parallel to this line are rows of trees in an orchard.

Climate News Roundup: IPCC Lands Report

When most people think about climate change, they likely think of CO2 emissions from cars or factories. But the way land is used and managed has a significant impact on the climate.

A teal-colored house is seemingly dwarfed by a profusion of plants growing around it, including purple and yellow blooms.

Insect Apocalypse? What Is Really Happening; Why it Matters; and How We All Can Help

Studies from across the world show that insects are declining. There is much we do not know, but we do know enough to take action now.

A grassy field ringed by trees bursts with color. It is populated by many different flower species.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – December 2019

December's featured staff offer a long-range view of habitat projects, from the planning and seeding stages, to current successes. In each of these stories, the ongoing work and great partnerships required to achieve positive conservation outcomes is apparent. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of these efforts!

In this close-up photo, a monarch perches atop a cluster of small, white and pink flowers. The image is so detailed, you can see the eye of the monarch, and the scales on its wings.

Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kits Designed to Support Imperiled Western Monarchs

These specially designed kits, geared towards large-scale projects, incorporate native milkweeds, nectar plants, and climate considerations.

This is a two-part image. On the left is a dry, arid, agricultural landscape with a lot of bare dirt. On the right is the same landscape, but with a flowering hedgerow that recedes into the distance, and a small, gray butterfly perched on a small, thin branch with flowers in the foreground.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – November 2019

As both a Pollinator Conservation Specialist and our Bee Better Certified Program Coordinator, Cameron Newell works to transform agricultural landscapes by providing pollinator habitat and support for beneficial insects.

Colorful blooms of blue, red, and yellow blanket the rows between newly-planted saplings.

Starting from Scratch: New Hampshire Farm Dives into Conservation Biological Control

This positive case study demonstrates the possibilities for farmers interested in supporting native pollinators and reducing or eliminating pesticide use.

Rugged mountains and pine trees, some reddish brown and some green, are shown in this Colorado landscape.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – September 2019

September’s featured staff members have been providing Monarch and Pollinator Habitat Kits to select organizations in California, training Colorado Department of Transportation staff on roadside pollinator habitat, and attending the America’s Grasslands Conference, held this year in North Dakota.

A glowing green mason jar contains a few fireflies in flight.

Nature Close to Home: Reimagining Gardens to Support Invertebrates

Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Xerces Society, encourages gardeners to increase the diversity of native plants, ensure that there are places for insects to nest, and avoid using pesticides.

People are crouched, planting native species in a new beetle bank in Iowa.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – August 2019

August’s featured staff members conducted a successful pollinator habitat workshop in Nebraska, and have been busy building beetle banks in Iowa.

An assortment of colors among a flowering hedgerow add life to an arid landscape.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – June 2019

June’s featured staff share their work with partners in large-scale agriculture in central Washington, family farms in Wisconsin, and a unique urban agriculture fellowship program in Virginia.

Bright yellow flowers reach upwards in this low-angle shot.

Managing Invertebrate-Friendly Gardens

Many Xerces Society members create wildlife gardens that are particularly hospitable to invertebrates. Here are three wonderful examples.

Two women walk through a garden with abundant, colorful flowers.

Bee City USA: Galvanizing Communities to Reverse Pollinator Decline

Collectively, urban and suburban areas have the potential of offering millions of acres of life-giving habitat to pollinators.

A leafcutter bee drinks nectar from rayless blanketflower

Bring Back the Pollinators During National Pollinator Week

With Pollinator Week upon us, now is the time to reaffirm our commitment to protecting these vital invertebrates. Here are some tangible ways to help.

A monarch and a goldenrod soldier beetle share a pale purple thistle.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – May 2019

May’s featured staff share stories of building pollinator habitat that will also support monarchs—one project on a farm in Iowa, and the other in a park in Missouri.

A thick bed of bright green clover blooms with red and white flowers amid rows of almond trees.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – April 2019

April’s featured staff—all Farm Bill Pollinator Conservation Planners—are driving the adoption of cover cropping in California, guiding farmers to support pollinators in Maine, and teaching the importance of rangeland to pollinator conservation in North Dakota.

An orange and black monarch nectars on the orange flowers of butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa).

How to Support Monarch Butterfly Conservation—During Earth Week and Beyond!

Helping the monarch back to full health isn’t going to be easy or quick, but together we can transform the landscape to allow the monarch to rebound—and give our children the gift of watching orange wings flap in the sunshine.

A fuzzy, gray and black bee collects pollen from a purple flower.

Bee City USA Mobilizes Communities to Support Imperiled Pollinators—Here’s How to Join

Earth Week is an inspiring time, brimming with opportunities to make a difference—including getting your community certified as a Bee City USA.

A garden in the front of a home showcases a variety of pollinator plants, including orange California poppies.

Pesticide-Free Gardening Tips for Earth Week and Beyond

Please consider spending Earth Week in the garden, enjoying the diversity of insects, and taking a few of the actions outlined below to simultaneously minimize pest problems and avoid the use of pesticides.

Red-orange poppies pepper a verdant hillside.

Bee Better Certified Engages the Almond Industry

With a robust set of requirements on pesticide use and the highest standards for protecting and restoring pollinator habitat of any food certification, Bee Better Certified represents a new era in biodiversity protection on farms.

A globe, in the darkness of space, with invertebrates on all the continents and in the oceans.

Pledge to Bring Back the Pollinators—on Earth Day and Every Day

During Earth Week 2019, we are asking you to consider taking simple, yet impactful, steps to make the world better for bees, butterflies, and other essential invertebrates.

Community Scientists Take on the Cultivar Conundrum

The Xerces Society’s blog post “Picking Plants for Pollinators: The Cultivar Conundrum” highlighted the lack of research on this topic. To help address this knowledge gap, Budburst launched the Nativars research project in 2018.

A field of sunflowers bordering a field.

Bee Better Certified: An Evolving Standard

After a year and a half of Bee Better Certified®, we have analyzed how the standards work for the many operations that are already implementing them, and have adjusted our requirements accordingly.

Landscaping outside an office building includes purple coneflower and goldenrod.

Mitigating the Effects of Heat on Urban Pollinators

Climate change will bring higher temperatures and greater extremes in weather, as well as increases in the frequency and intensity of heat waves. These variations will be exacerbated in cities in ways that may spell trouble for bees.

A group of smiling people poses with their shovels and other implements by a flowering hedgerow.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – February 2019

February’s featured staff member has been working on a hedgerow incorporating diverse native species in North Carolina. Here she reports on its progress and the interesting invertebrates sighted on the plantings!

Orange, white, and black Quino checkerspot butterfly (Euphydryas editha quino) sits atop a purple flower with wings spread wide.

National Butterfly Center Gets Reprieve—But Border Wall Will Impact Much More

There are many reasons to oppose the wall along the southern border—including the loss of habitat for some of our smallest and most important animals.

Children tend plantings in a raised bed.

Cedaroak Park Primary School Gardens Offer Learning Opportunities

Jenni Denekas, Xerces' web and communications coordinator, writes, "Being assigned to create an interpretive panel for Cedaroak Park Primary School, where I attended grade school, was a special experience."

A western monarch rests on the side of a tree with furrowed bark.

New Year’s Count of Western Monarchs Confirms Decline, Trends Seen in Previous Years

Overall, the count data revealed an average decrease of 38% between the Thanksgiving and New Year’s counts.

A tractor and some other farm equipment in the background are dwarfed by blooming plants in the foreground of this photo of an arid agricultural area.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – January 2019

January’s featured staff have been working on establishing pollinator habitat in California’s Central Valley and helping farmers both navigate the ins and outs of the Endangered Species Act and provide restored habitat for native bees in Maine.

Prairie grasses and flowers are illuminated beautifully by low, golden sunlight.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – December 2018

December’s featured staff hail from Iowa and Minnesota, and have been making significant impacts in their respective states by educating farmers and other members of the public, helping to restore and build new habitat, and pushing for policies that support pollinators and other beneficial insects.

Close up view of freshwater mussels filtering water.

Are Freshwater Mussels in Hot Water?

Freshwater mussels play an important role in maintaining water quality in creeks. Climate change is altering water conditions, impacting the mussels and the fish on which they rely for part of their life cycle.

A metallic green bee appears to be climbing headfirst into a hole in some reddish-tan wood.

Where Do Pollinators Go in the Winter?

Most native bee species will spend the winter in the nests that their mothers provisioned. In fact, just like bears, many pollinators hibernate through the winter—and they may need a little help to survive until spring.

A fuzzy bee with yellow and black stripes, as well as a rust-colored patch on its back, holds tightly to a pink flower.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – November 2018

November’s featured staff hail from Minnesota, Indiana, and California, and have been conducting training and outreach events, helping General Mills to implement their plan to plant 3,300 acres of pollinator habitat, and monitoring farm habitat plantings in the San Joaquin Valley.

Brown-belted bumble bee nectaring on eastern redbud.

A Shifting Climate Creates Winners and Losers

We are already observing impacts on some species that are emerging earlier or whose distributions are changing, but it is difficult to characterize how insects as a whole will be impacted: some species will benefit while most will lose out.

A large creamy-yellow-and-black butterfly rests atop a pale purple flower.

The Striking Beauty of Oklahoma’s Butterflies

Oklahoma’s impressive butterfly fauna of more than 170 species includes the nation’s largest and the smallest, and representatives of all six major butterfly families.

The beautiful Adonis blue butterfly perches on the end of a stalk of grass. Its wings are positioned such that the ventral and dorsal sides are shown. The inner wing is bright blue, and the outside is speckled.

Ups and Downs of English Chalk Grasslands

About a third of Britain’s sixty resident butterfly species may be encountered on chalk grasslands, but it is a handful of blues—common, chalkhill, small, and Adonis—that may be most characteristic of this habitat.

Purple asters bloom against a green background.

Fall Garden Tips to Benefit Bumble Bees All Year

The growing season may be winding down, but fall is an important time to create habitat. The work you do now will help support overwintering pollinators and the next generation of bumble bees.

Closeup of beautiful, layered pink and white petals.

Pollinator Conservation Program Digest – October 2018

October’s featured staff hail from Oklahoma, California, and Nebraska, and have been providing workshops for the public, planning pollinator habitat for arid agricultural areas, and assessing the success of pollinator plantings.

Klickitat Canyon Vineyard - in the foreground are brightly colored blooms of arrowleaf balsamroot and lupine, and in the background are rows of vines.

From the Field: A Visit to Klickitat Canyon Vineyard

Klickitat Canyon Winery is teeming with life of many kinds, from flowers and bees to birds and spiders. The organic vineyard is working towards becoming Bee Better Certified.

Connecticut’s Sand Plains Need Protection

Sand plains have been subjected to mining, development, and fragmentation, resulting in a loss of up to 95% of this habitat type. But these unusual environments are home to a number of rare plants and insects.

An Indian plantain blooms with small, white flowers in a field.

Weird and Wonderful Plants for Pollinators: Pale Indian Plantain

Pale Indian plantain is a plant with high ambitions—leaping to up to nine feet in height! The unusual flowers are visited by a mix of predatory wasps, which are the plant's primary pollinators and provide some of the best pest control you could ask for.

Weird and Wonderful Plants for Pollinators: Wild Quinine

Also known as wild feverfew, this plant has a long history of medicinal use by Native Americans and the US Army. During World War I, wild quinine was used as a substitute for the bark of the Cinchona tree—as the active ingredient of quinine used to treat malaria.

Weird and Wonderful Plants for Pollinators: Rattlesnake Master

It won't protect you from a snake bite, but rattlesnake master still has many virtues to recommend it.

Weird and Wonderful Plants for Pollinators: Prairie Smoke

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire - but where there’s prairie smoke, there are bumble bees, buzz-pollination, and a bit of thievery.

A lawn bursting with violets and dandelions provides color for humans to enjoy and pollen for our bee friends.

Bee Friendlier with Your Lawncare

If you’re ready to re-think your lawn, read on for practical advice and small changes that can help support pollinators and a healthier planet.

A western monarch rests on a white flower amid a dry, grassy field.

Managing for Monarchs in the West

A new guide to protecting the monarch butterfly from the Pacific to the Rockies presents a holistic approach to monarch conservation.

Leafcutter bee on a red and yellow blanketflower.

10 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day

Here are some ways you can work to promote a healthy planet for invertebrates and the people they let share their planet.

A graphic has a circle with a line through it superimposed over tropical milkweed, with its characteristic red and yellow flowers.

Tropical Milkweed—a No-Grow

Milkweed is in demand, and that demand has been filled in recent years by tropical milkweed, a non-native species. But is planting tropical milkweed potentially doing more harm than good?

A bright orange and black monarch perches on dry flowers in a tan field.

Newly Released Monarch Overwintering Site Management Plan Provides Blueprint for Protecting and Managing Monarch Groves

This western monarch butterfly overwintering site management plan also serves as a template for land managers at other overwintering sites.

A small, orangish-brown butterfly perches on a sprig of grayish-purple lavender.

Staff Stories: Life in the Suburbs

Our Communications Director Matthew Shepherd shares stories of creating a mini wildlife sanctuary in his Portland, OR garden, and the many plant/insect interactions that have brought his family so much enjoyment in a suburban space.

Sran Family Orchards: The First Bee Better Certified Farm

Sran Family Orchards, the world’s largest grower of organic almonds, has long committed to sustainable farming, with flower-rich pollinator habitat as an integral part of the almond orchards. This investment recently paid off when Sran Family Orchards gained certification as a Bee Better Certified grower.

A close cluster of bright yellow blooms brightens a yard.

Picking Plants for Pollinators: The Cultivar Conundrum

What are cultivars, and do they have the same benefits to pollinators as non-cultivars? The answer depends—not all cultivars are created equally.

Planning Your Plantings for Climate Resiliency

With earlier springs and warmer fall days - pollinators need plants that provide resources at the farthest fringes of the growing season.

Going Beyond the Bloom: Don’t Be Just A Flower-Weather Friend

There's still plenty to do to restore, protect, and expand habitat in the "off" season!

New Fact Sheet Highlights Risks to California’s Surface Water from Insecticides

Neonicotinoids have been found in California’s rivers and streams at levels known to harm or outright kill aquatic invertebrates.

Bright yellow flowers bloom in the foreground of a scene with many layers. Farther out is a basin filled with subalpine lakes, and beyond are many mountain peaks.

Don’t Downsize the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is unique among the BLM’s National Conservation Lands in that it is one of the most biologically diverse places in North America.

1.3 Billion Stems of Milkweed Needed in Midwest to Recover Monarch Population

A new study from the USGS, Univ. of Arizona, and partner organizations finds 1.3 additional milkweed stems are needed in the Midwestern U.S. to recover monarch butterfly populations.

pollinator garden with a pollinator habitat sign

Are you up for the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge?

Can the nation establish a network of one million pollinator gardens within two years? Yes we can!

Numerous bamboo tubes stand upright. Some have hollow ends, and some have mud filling the opening. A small bee perches atop one of them.

5 Ways to Increase Nesting Habitat for Native Bees

Recent research suggests that pollinators do better in urban environments, yet these mowed, mulched, and managed landscapes frequently lack a sufficient amount of nesting habitat needed to support large numbers of bees. As wild bees move off ag lands and head for the cities and suburbs, they may struggle to find their “dream home” amongst ours.