Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide, Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies

I'm one of those apiary managers and students of pollination as well as the wide array of pollinators who simply MUST read everything I can get my hands on, in order to remain informed.This year, we're putting mason/orchard bee nest houses in a variety of locations in order to attract and video/observe a wide range of U.S. Native Pollinating Bees. Attracting Native Pollinators by this notable collection of contributors is my primary preparation resource. I always receive the Xerces Society Newsletter and am onboard with altering my landscape to suit North American Bes and Butterflies.Of particular interest to me, was the guidance on creating artificial nesting sites... what materials to use, ups and downs, where to place the nests and what environmental resources should be available for success. Thanks to this book, I am definitely prepared for spring 2018!Aside from being able to use this book for bee/pollinator identification and classification, it's a wonderful resource for learning about which native plants will be visited by which species of pollinator and what the benefits will be... nectar, pollen, or in the case of the leafcutter bee.. preferred leaves! The chapter on Pollinator Plants, Selection Criteria, was extremely helpful as we are re-seeding a few acres with beneficial native plants that will be providing resources for native pollinators as well as our managed honey bees.The book is extremely easy to navigate, loaded with very well composed, crystal clear images/photos and has now become my most recommended book for students and those who attend my seminars. "How can we make our property better for bees?" Oh, glad you asked... get the book Attracting Native Pollinators! You'll be planting for your honeybees AND supporting the wide array of native pollinators...The complaint... not available as a hardbound volume! I have no reservations about endorsing and recommending this excellent book!

This book has turned out to be one of my favorite "gardening" books. It is easy to read and gives a clear picture of the many species of invertebrate pollinators in need of conservation. I garden on a small urban lot, so I am striving to have a garden that is both attractive *and* good for pollinators, since I can't really set aside a dedicated area to allow to "run wild." I have found, much to my surprise, that many of the ideas and plant choices presented in this book are quite adaptable to my small garden. By using information from this book as well as searching plant catalogues for any mention of ornamental plants that are liked by bees or other insect pollinators, I was happy to see my garden buzzing with activity from early spring through late fall. I had 3 species of bumblebees, several types of solitary bees, honey bees (that flew in from area hives), great black wasps, hover flies, and the list goes on and on. I am in the early stages of the identification process but this book actually made me stop to think about what is flying around me in my area. Watching invertebrate pollinators is at least as fun as bird watching or other forms of wildlife watching! My next door neighbors on either side of me are also becoming fascinated by pollinators.If you enjoy this book, then please consider joining the Xerces Society. I joined last year and find their quarterly newsletter/magazine quite fascinating, even though I am not a biologist or entomologist by any stretch of the imagination. Their website is also a great resource; you could spend hours browsing and reading through everything!

This is one of those books that changes your perspective. It is enlightening and empowering for anyone who cared about the environment. What I loved most about it is the message that even tiny spaces - as small as one pot of pollinator-friendly plants on your porch - can make a big difference in supporting pollinators. It has inspired me to start several micro conservation projects and empowered me to convince my family to not destroy miner bee nests on our property. I also learned that raising honey bees (which are an introduced species and are not endangered) is NOT necessarily great because they are aggressive foragers - often not leaving enough food for native bees which truly are endangered.

I purchased this book because I am working with a local nature center to restore the native plants on their property. One of the gardens is the butterfly garden. We needed information on what plants we could put in this garden to replace the non-native, invasive 'butterfly bush' (Buddleia). This book gave us that information and a lot more.It provides comprehensive information about the ecological importance of native pollinators and how to create an environment to benefit and attract them. It has information on butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles and other pollinators however the primary focus is on bees. It has detailed information on the taxonomy of the bees of North America. Who knew there were so many different types of native bees? It explains the difference between native bees and the non-native honey bee and provides information on the identification, nesting and foraging habits of each species of native bee.This book includes detailed instructions on designing pollinator gardens and habitat, regional lists of recommended plants, educational activities for children and an extensive list of resources. It is well organized, easy to read and includes many excellent photographs.

me encantó, aún no lo termino de leer, pero cada parte está muy bien explicada, profusamente ilustrada y tal vez sea que el tema me interesa mucho, pero se me hizo ameno.

I wanted to plant a pollinator garden in the back. I used ANP as the basic resource for plant characteristics (sun/water) and what pollinators are attracted. I cross checked against local plants available from nurseries near by.The book has a thorough review of pollinator biology and lots of information to help various kinds of groups set up habitat for pollinators.The text is written primarily for Americans but includes Canadian areas as well.

A thorough but easily readable book that covers a wide range of topics for anyone interested in pollinators and sound environmental land practice. Good for both the beginner and expert, an excellent book overall.

My definitive guide to all things relating to pollinators, particularly the bees. This one book helped me identify all the different bees and other faux bees in my garden and there are great ideas for making your garden more pollinator friendly.

Very informative.