Within buzzing meadows and grasslands, insects of all shapes and sizes are getting to work. These critters may look like they are aimlessly bouncing from flower to flower, but they are fueling themselves up and pollinating in the process. Pollen sticks to the antenna, bodies, and appendages of an insect, which gets transferred to other plants.

To celebrate Pollinator Week, we are highlighting some of our favorite pollination partners.  

Red Milkweed Beetle and Milkweed 

Monarch butterflies aren’t the only insects that love Milkweed–just look at the Red Milkweed Beetle. They live and feed on Milkweed and in turn, the plant turns the beetle into a bright shade. While these beetles aren’t toxic, their bright color mimics other species that are, keeping would-be predators at bay.  

As Red Milkweed Beetles climb to the petal of the flowers to collect nectar, their legs may slip into a pollinia sac. When they take their leg out, pollen clings to them until they go to a new flower, where another sac is waiting for the leg to fall through for pollination. Like the beetle, Carpenter Bees and Painted Lady Butterflies are drawn to the abundant nectar of the Milkweed, making it a common destination for pollinators. 

Hummingbirds and Bee Balm 

It’s hard to keep up with a hummingbird as it zips around, briefly pausing to hover over the opening of a plant. As the small but mighty bird’s tongue pokes flowers like Bee Balm, it sometimes rattles around the pollen just enough to fertilize the plant. Other times, pollen sticks to the left-over nectar coating a hummingbird’s beak and then gets transferred to another plant that the hummingbird visits . 

Bee Balm is particularly a favorite for hummingbirds, especially the minty-scented Scarlet Bee Balm. The tubular red flowers bloom in clumps at the edge of forests and meadows, soaking up the sun in dry soil. Humans enjoy Bee Balm too–it’s perfect to brew as tea! 

Hummingbird Clearwing and Viburnum 

Hummingbird Clearwings aren’t your average moth–they prefer the heat of the day instead of the cover of darkness. Without keen eyes, you might mistake this moth for an actual hummingbird as it flies to sip up sweet nectar. Their long proboscis coils close to their head as they zoom around and extends when it finds the perfect flower to feed on.  

Clearwings frequently visit the shady Viburnum shrub. Viburnums rely on pollinators to transfer pollen to produce berries in the winter and fall. Bonus: Viburnums are a favorite among Tiger Swallowtail butterflies and Sphinx Moths during the summer and the fruit attracts Northern Cardinals and Eastern Bluebirds in the fall and winter. 

Baltimore Checkerspot and Turtlehead 

Forget chess: the Baltimore Checkerspot is always prepared for a game of checkers with its colorful wings. Don’t get this butterfly mixed up with the Harris’ Checkerspot, which mimics the Baltimore’s pattern but is often slightly smaller and more orange in appearance. 

All Checkerspots are meadow species and may be found in both wet and dry meadow communities. Turtleheads, named after their bloom that resembles a turtle, grow in wet areas. Baltimore Checkerspots lay their eggs on the Turtlehead, where the larva will eat and thrive on the plant. Once they turn into butterflies, they come back to return the favor through pollination. 

Bumblebees and Tomato Plants 

Bumblebees are powerhouses in the pollination arena. In fact, many farms and greenhouses need bumblebees to help fertilize their plants. Worker bees collect nectar and pollen to bring to the Queen and larva for food.

Although tomato plants aren’t a native species, bumblebees specialize in them. They are known as buzz pollinators, because they attach themselves to flowers that have a tight center, like tomato plants, and use their vibrations to open them up. As the flower loosens, pollen can fall out and land in other flowers or onto the fuzz of the bumblebee. As the bees move across the tomato plant, the pollen drops from their hair to pollinate other flowers.

Plant A Pollinator Garden 

Bring pollinators to your neck of the woods by planting a colorful range of flowers that looks great and helps your local wildlife. Find out how > 

In the mix of a bustling city lined with buildings and people, it can be a welcome sight to see the blossoming branches of a tree in a local park or along a sidewalk. These trees are a bit different from the ones populating a more rural forest and face unique challenges. Mass Audubon’s first urban ecologist, Erica Holm, shares some of the thoughts and considerations that play into urban forestry.

Not Just Branches and Trunks 

Forget Spiderman and Superman: trees are the superheroes of concrete jungles, benefitting public health by storing carbon, absorbing and filtering stormwater, improving air and soil quality, preventing erosion, and adding biodiversity and wildlife habitat to our neighborhoods. 

Urban forests also keep cities cool. Many populated areas, often environmental justice neighborhoods, experience the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon where temperatures are significantly higher than in less-populated natural landscapes. These higher temperatures can have significant implications for public health and the lives of local residents. 

Role of an Urban Ecologist 

Before each new urban tree is planted, there are numerous factors that an ecologist needs to consider.

What species is the tree, or what tree species would do best given specific site conditions? How tall will the tree get? Will it interfere with any existing infrastructure? Will pollen, seeds, or deciduous leaves be produced? Who will revisit the tree to water it during the establishment period (3-5 years after planting), and ensure its maintenance in other ways?

“Urban forestry is a hard field,” said Holm. “We can’t just plant a tree and walk away, expecting it to survive. We are asking urban trees to live in some of the most challenging conditions possible–unnatural levels of de-icing salt from roads and other pollutants, infrastructure barriers to growth, areas where storm damage needs to be monitored and cleaned up due to public safety, and a lack of natural plant communities and hydrologic function.” 

It’s also not just about planting new trees. Preserving existing trees is just as important. Trees on whole have much longer, slower lifespans than humans. Both new and old trees play a part in the city’s future in terms of ecology and resilience.

Supporting Your Trees 

There are actions you can take right now to protect urban green spaces. If you want to plant a tree, first ask your local certified arborist or tree warden well in advance (at least one growing season) of when you want to plant, or get involved with the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Urban and Community Forestry Program. You can also volunteer at one of Mass Audubon’s wildlife sanctuaries to plant not just trees, but also pollinator plants and shrubs.

Learn more about Mass Audubon’s commitment to growing urban greenspaces in our Action Agenda or donate to help support our efforts.