Larry Hurley’s Photo Of The Week: Pollinators

Although bees, butterflies and hummingbirds get much of the credit for pollinating, there are loads of other pollinators in your garden. This is a photo of a (non-native) hybrid ornamental onion, Allium ‘Millenium’. This was the Perennial Plant Association Perennial of the Year for 2018. On it you may see a couple of bumblebees, but mostly Goldenrod Soldier Beetles, which look a lot like fireflies, but don’t light up.

This is a common beetle out here in Wisconsin, and is considered to be an important pollinator. In addition to feeding on pollen and nectar, they also eat aphids and other small insects. I have a wide range of perennials in my garden, and the four that really throw the pollinator insects into a frenzy are the Allium, Calamint (Calamintha nepeta subspecies nepeta was Perennial Plant of the Year for 2021), Goldenrods, and Short-toothed Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum muticum. The small, white flowered plant behind the Allium in the photo is Calamint. The Calamint gets so many bumblebees that you can hear the buzzing.

The Mountain Mint (not pictured) is native to the Eastern United States, including Maryland. This one draws the largest variety of pollinators.