Insect Friendly Gardens

When planning a pollinator garden, remember that pollinators need what every animal needs: food, shelter, water, and space to raise a family.

Common pollinators in Maryland include bees and wasps, butterflies and moths, beetles, and flies.

Flower flies are a natural predator of aphids. Flower flies are mainly nonselective pollinators, feeding on nectar and pollen from a variety of plants and agriculturally important crops.

Cellophane bees are important pollinators of plants and they are not aggressive/defensive.

Parasitoids are small insects whose immature stages develop either within or attached to the outside of other insects, referred to as hosts.

Pollination is the process by which plants reproduce and create seeds. Animals, called pollinators, are necessary for the movement of pollen from one plant to another.

Bumble bees are important pollinators that feed on nectar and pollen. They very rarely sting.

The Pollinator Protection Act prohibits the use of neonicotinoid pesticides outdoors by home by gardeners.

Tachinid flies are among the many beneficial flies that prey on garden pests.

Carpenter bees are the largest native bees in the United States and they are effective pollinators.