Attracting Native Pollinators
Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies, was published in 2011 by Storey Publishing, North Adams, Massachusetts. Attracting Native Pollinators is coauthored by four Xerces Society staff members Eric Mader, Matthew Shepherd, Mace Vaughan, and Scott Black in collaboration with Gretchen LeBuhn, a San Francisco State University botanist and director of the Great Sunflower Project.
Since Xerces published the groundbreaking Pollinator Conservation Handbook in 2003, conservation practices have evolved, and the handbook has begun to show its age. At 380 pages, Attracting Native Pollinators provides dramatically expanded breadth and detail, reflecting the latest understanding about creating and managing pollinator habitat. Illustrated with hundreds of color photographs and dozens of specially created illustrations, Attracting Native Pollinators is divided into the following four detailed sections:
- Pollinators and Pollination explains the value of pollinators, and includes informative chapters on the natural history and habitat needs of bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, and wasps.
- Taking Action provides comprehensive information on ways to help pollinators and on creating nest sites and safe foraging areas. It includes guidance on conserving pollinators in all kinds of landscapes: gardens, natural areas, farms, recreation land, even ecoroofs.
- Bees of North America provides help with identifying the more abundant and important bee species, and supplies detailed profiles of more than thirty commonly encountered genera.
- Creating a Pollinator-Friendly Landscape shows how various kinds of land, including urban gardens, suburban parks, and farms, can be enhanced to support diverse pollinator populations. Sample planting designs and fifty pages of illustrated plant lists facilitate selection of the best plants for any region.
“Attracting Native Pollinators belongs on the bookshelf of everyone who values the future of the natural world.”
– Douglas W. Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home.
“Precise, elegant, and thoughtful, the recommendations offered by the Xerces Society will become essential to advancing a healthy and diverse food-production system.”
– Gary Paul Nabhan, author of The Forgotten Pollinators and Renewing America’s Food Tradition.