Pollinators have modest needs.
-Flowers, of the kind that grow willingly everywhere and produce nectar and pollen profusely. We mostly call them weeds and try to get rid of them. Nectar is food for butterflies, moths, bees, wasps and many other insects. Butterflies and moths don't eat pollen, although they play a role in pollination by moving it around. For bees, however, the high-protein pollen is an important food for their larvae.
-Foliage, for the larvae (caterpillars) of moths and butterflies, of a kind that the caterpillars of this moth or that butterfly have feasted on for generations. Because plant and insect evolved together, the insect’s larvae are able to overcome the toxic chemicals that its specific plant produces to protect itself. Think monarch butterfly and milkweed (but note that a monarch consumes nectar from any accessible flower). Gardeners generally have no idea what plants play host to and make good nurseries for what specific insects – but a native plant is a safe bet.
-Nesting spots – a sunny patch of bare soil warmed by the sun, the hollow stems of overwintering perennials, an old piece of wood that can be tunnelled into. We pave pathways and mulch beds, thus barring ground-nesting bees from access to the ground and we tidy up old stems and deadwood, leaving nowhere for insects like carpenter and leafcutter bees.
-Chemical-free food. We dust and spray our countryside with toxins that make their way into the pollen, nectar and foliage beneficial insects consume, even wildflowers'. These toxins can also migrate into soil and water. And many of the garden plants we hope will help our pollinators have been sprayed in the nursery and can be harmful.
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