Pollinator Resources
Insect pollinators need three things to survive: food, shelter, and protection from insecticides. The resources listed below provide detailed information for how you can provide a healthy habitat for Wisconsin’s pollinators, whether you are a farmer, gardener, or homeowner.
Resources for Growers
- Farming for Bees: Guidelines for Providing Native Bee Habitat on Farms – The Xerces Society. A detailed PDF booklet describing actions farmers can take to protect bees on their farm.
- Protecting Pollinators and Improving Pollination on Wisconsin Cranberry Marshes – University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension
- Wild Pollinators in Wisconsin’s Apple Orchards – UW-Madison Department of Entomology
- Wild Pollinators of Eastern Apple Orchards and How to Conserve Them – Cornell University, Penn State University, and The Xerces Society
- NRCS portal: How Farmers Can Help Pollinators – A portal to USDA sponsored programs for pollinator conservation
Resources for Everyone
The Xerces Society’s Pollinator Conservation Resource Center
Your go-to source for pollinator conservation in North America is The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Check out their website for region specific plant lists and conservation strategies.
A Few Publications We Like
- Planting for Pollinators: Guiding Principles and Design Concepts for Residential Pollinator Habitat (Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources)
- Supporting Native Bees: Our Essential Pollinators. (University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension)
- Habitat Assessment Guide for Pollinators in Yards, Gardens, and Parks (The Xerces Society)
- Mader, E., Shepherd, M., Vaughan, M., Black, S.H., LeBuhn, G. (2011). Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies. Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA. 372 pages.
The Wisconsin Pollinator Protection Plan
Participate in citizen science
- WiBee: The Wisconsin Wild Bee App – University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Project Wingspan – Pollinator Partnership. Get trained to collect native seeds for pollinator habitat in Wisconsin.
- Wisconsin Bumble Bee Brigade – Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
- Bumble Bee Watch – Xerces Society
- Journey North – University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum
- The Great Sunflower Project