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A Central Iowa Beekeepers Association Pollinator Education Program

Wondering how you can help pollinators? Whether you have a large yard, a small balcony, or just a few flower pots, you can make a meaningful difference. The ideas below will help you create food, water, and habitat for bees, butterflies, and other important pollinators.

 

And you can start with just one thing.

Plant a few pollinator-friendly flowers, provide fresh water, or create nesting habitat. Every small action helps support bees, butterflies, and countless other beneficial insects.

Make a Difference for Pollinators

Plant for Pollinators

​You can plant a pollinator garden in your yard, garden, farm, ranch, local community using native plants. Just remember to:

  • Go Native - plant native plant species

  • Bee Showy - flowers should bloom in your garden throughout the growing season

  • Bee Bountiful - plant big patches of each plant species

  • Bee Diverse - plant a diversity of flowering species that supply an abundance of pollen and nectar

  • Bee Chemical Free - limit or eliminate use of pesticides

    • Don’t use pesticides in your garden. If you must, use fast-acting, short-residual options, and apply at dusk when pollinators are least active.

  • Group several "bee" plants together in flowering patches of one meter squared, to increase overall attraction of the site to a greater diversity of bees.

 

Planting Guides

The Pollinator Partnership offers 32 different Planting Guides to improve pollinator habitat, each one tailored to a specific ecoregion in the United States.

 

Each guide is filled with an abundance of native plant and pollinator information. Enter your zip code to find your ecoregion planting guide and download it for free.

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Think Beyond Flowers

Wherever possible, consider how to include trees that provide pollen and nectar for bees (see Table 1). Around and under each tree provide a diversity of plants that, together, produce continuous, abundant flowers.​​

Table 1

TREE SPECIIES
BLOOM WINDOW
POLLINATOR VALUE
MATURE SIZE
Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum
Mid Summer
Fills a critical mid-season gap with rich, prized nectar.
20–30 ft; small specimen tree with brilliant red fall leaves.
Northern Catalpa (Catalpa speciosa)
Early Summer
Showy, trumpet-shaped flowers packed with sweet nectar.
40–60 ft; highly resilient, tough urban shade tree.
American Linden / Basswood (Tilia americana)
Early Summer
Showy, trumpet-shaped flowers packed with sweet nectar.
40–60 ft; highly resilient, tough urban shade tree.
Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)
Late Spring
Water-white nectar yields a premium, slow-crystallizing honey.
40–60 ft; fast-growing, highly fragrant clusters.
Midwest Crabapple (Malus baccata)
Late Spring
Water-white nectar yields a premium, slow-crystallizing honey.
40–60 ft; fast-growing, highly fragrant clusters.
Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Mid Spring
Bright pink blooms feed early native bees and bumblebees.
20–30 ft; beautiful understory or small lawn accent.
Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
Early Spring
First major source of high-energy nectar after winter.
40–60 ft; excellent shade tree with vibrant fall color.
Willow (Salix spp.)
Early Spring
High-protein pollen essential for spring brood rearing.
30–50 ft; thrives in wet soils and lowlands.

Reduce Pesticides

Pollinators are extremely sensitive to many pesticides.

  • Avoid insecticides whenever possible.

  • If treatment is necessary, spray only after sunset when bees are no longer flying.

  • Spot treat instead of spraying entire landscapes.

  • Choose the least-toxic option available.

Provide Water

Pollinators need safe places to drink.

  • Add shallow water with stones or sticks for landing.

  • Keep fresh water available during hot weather.

  • Refresh often to discourage mosquitoes.

Create a Butterfly Puddling Pool

Why do butterflies gather around mud puddles?

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Butterflies don't visit puddles simply to drink. They're collecting salts and minerals that flowers don't provide. Male butterflies especially need these minerals, which also help them produce pheromones and contribute nutrients during mating.

 

How to make one

  • Use a shallow plant saucer, pie pan, or terracotta dish.

  • Fill it with coarse sand or small gravel.

  • Sink it level with the ground.

  • Keep the sand consistently damp.

  • Place it in full sun where butterflies can easily find it.

 

Every few weeks, add a small piece of overripe fruit or a handful of compost to replenish minerals.

Butterfly pudding pool

Puddling Behavior -
Picture by EarthTouch News Network

Provide Nesting Habitat

Many native bees don't live in hives.

 

You can help by:

  • Leaving some bare soil.

  • Protecting dead wood when safe.

  • Planting shrubs with hollow or pithy stems.

  • Installing a native bee house.

  • Leaving some garden cleanup until spring.

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And specifically:

• Retain dead or dying trees and branches whenever it is safe and practical. Wood-boring beetle larvae often fill dead trees and branches with narrow tunnels into which tunnel-nesting bees will move. In addition, retain rotting logs where some bee species may burrow tunnels in which to nest.

• Protect sloped or well-drained ground sites where plants are sparse and direct access to soil is available. These are the areas where ground nesting bees may dig nests. Native bee nests have been found in orchards, front yards, along farm roads, and even in cultivated fields.

• Leave some areas of the farm untilled and minimize weed control tillage. Turning the soil destroys all ground nests that are present at that depth and hinders the emergence of bees that are nesting deeper in the ground.

• Protect grassy thickets, or other areas of dense, low cover from mowing or other disturbance These are the sites where bumble bees might find the nest cavities they need, not to mention biennial or perennial forbs that can provide significant food resources.

Ground dwelling - nest of bees.

Don’t worry if native bees nest close to homes.  Solitary bees are gentle and very reluctant to sting. Bumble bees are not aggressive unless their nests are exposed or they are harassed. If we respect their needs, they will ignore us.  Photo by Matthew Shepherd, Xerces Society.

Leave a Little Bare Ground

Mulch isn't always better.

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About 60–70% of native bee species nest underground. Thick layers of mulch or landscape fabric can prevent females from digging nests.

 

If possible:

  • Leave small patches of bare soil.

  • Reduce landscape fabric.

  • Mulch only where truly needed.

 

A few open areas can make a tremendous difference for native bees.

Help Monarch Butterflies

The monarch migration occurs twice every year. Nectar from flowers provides the fuel monarchs need to fly. If there are not any blooming plants to collect nectar from when the monarchs stops, they will not have any energy to continue. Planting monarch flowers that bloom when they will be passing will help the monarchs reach their destination. Creating more monarch habitat will help work to reverse their decline.

 

Plant the correct plants!

  • Plant milkweed! Monarch caterpillars need milkweeds to grow and develop. There are over 100 milkweed species that are native to North America, many of which are used by monarchs. To learn which species to plant in your region, and how to plant them, visit the Bring Back the Monarchs Campaign. 

  • Plant butterfly nectar plants! Monarchs need nectar to provide energy as they breed, for their migratory journey, and to build reserves for the long winter.

  • The Monarch Watch organization has a Milkweed Market that provides details on where to purchase plants/seeds. 

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Monarch Planting Guide

Planting List Provided by Monarch Watch

 

Monarch Waystations Habitats

By creating and maintaining a Monarch Waystation you are contributing to monarch conservation, an effort that will help assure the preservation of the species and the continuation of the spectacular monarch migration phenomenon.

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What Else Can You Do?

  • Encourage public land managers to create monarch habitat! Roadsides and parks of all sizes offer great opportunities to create habitat for monarchs and other pollinators.

  • Join citizen-science efforts to track monarch populations! The data collected by hundreds of citizen scientists across the country are used by monarch scientists to decipher monarch population trends, and to learn more about what might be driving their numbers from year to year.

  • Support monarch conservation efforts. There are a number of monarch conservation efforts underway doing very good work. Please consider donating to support these monarch conservation efforts.

Get Children Involved

Some of tomorrow's best pollinator advocates are today's kids.

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  • Plant flowers together.

  • Watch butterflies.

  • Count bees.

  • Build a bee house.

  • Make pollinator gardening a family project.​​

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Every Garden Matters

Whether you plant one pot of flowers on a patio or restore an entire prairie, you're helping provide food and habitat for bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and countless other pollinators.

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Small actions, multiplied by thousands of people, create lasting change.

Bee Politically Active

Many of the biggest improvements for pollinators happen one garden at a time—but community decisions matter, too. Parks, roadsides, neighborhoods, schools, and public spaces all provide opportunities to create healthier habitat. If you'd like to make an even bigger impact, consider becoming an advocate for pollinators in your community.

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Engage with Lawmakers

  • Contact your representatives. Call or email your local, state, and federal officials to demand strong pollinator protection laws.

  • Advocate for pesticide bans. Ask lawmakers to restrict neonicotinoids and other harmful chemicals in residential and public spaces.

  • Push for habitat funding. Urge politicians to support agricultural bills that incentivize farmers to plant wildflower borders.

  • Attend town halls. Ask public candidates directly about their plans to address biodiversity loss and insect declines. 

 

Consider Pollinators When You Vote

  • Research candidate platforms. Look for explicit commitments to environmental protection, wildlife conservation, and sustainable agriculture.

  • Track legislative scorecards. Check non-profit environmental databases to see how current lawmakers voted on past conservation bills.

  • Support local ballot measures. Vote yes on bonds that fund public parks, open spaces, and native planting initiatives.

  • Participate in local elections. City councils and county boards make critical decisions about local pesticide use and land zoning. 

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Drive Community Policy

  • Change local HOA rules. Run for your Homeowners Association board to overturn restrictions against natural, pollinator-friendly lawns.

  • Lobby for public spaces. Petition your city to replace roadside grass turf with native wildflower corridors.

  • Support "Bee City" initiatives. Encourage your municipality to apply for official Bee City USA certification to institutionalize protective policies. ​

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Want to make an even bigger impact? The choices we make in our own gardens matter, but so do the decisions made by our neighborhoods, communities, and elected officials. If you'd like to help pollinators beyond your own backyard, consider getting involved.

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Helpful Resources

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