Pollinators are essential to our environment. The ecological service they provide is necessary for the reproduction of over 85% of the world’s flowering plants, including more than two-thirds of the world’s crop species. The United States alone grows more than 100 crops that either need or benefit from pollinators, and the economic value of these native pollinators is estimated at $3 billion per year in the U.S. Beyond agriculture, pollinators are keystone species in most terrestrial ecosystems. Fruits and seeds derived from insect pollination are a major part of the diet of approximately 25% of all birds, and of mammals ranging from red-backed voles to grizzly bears.
Unfortunately, in many places, the essential service of pollination is at risk from habitat loss, pesticide use, and introduced diseases. Follow the links below to learn more about these vital insects, the Xerces Society's pollinator conservation work, and how you can help.
Sign the Pollinator Protection Pledge
The pollinator protection pledge is based on four simple principles: Grow pollinator-friendly flowers, provide nest sites, avoid pesticides, and spread the word. These core values apply equally to urban community gardens, suburban yards, city parks, and farms—making them possible to implement anywhere, anytime!
Find Pollinator Conservation Resources
The Pollinator Conservation Resource Center provides region-specific plant lists, habitat establishment guides, local seed vendors, and more—all the information necessary to create effective pollinator habitat!
For Farmers & Food Companies: Bee Better Certified
Bee Better Certified® partners with farmers and food companies to conserve bees and other pollinators in agricultural lands. Our work advances more resilient pollinator populations and sustainable crop production.
For Communities & Campuses: Bee City USA & Bee Campus USA
Bee City USA and Bee Campus USA galvanize communities to sustain pollinators by providing them with healthy habitat, rich in a variety of native plants, and free to nearly free of pesticides.
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Understanding Pesticides
Learn about the risks to pollinators and other invertebrates, and find alternatives.
Since 2019, the Xerces Society Habitat Kit Program has united Xerces, local residents, and native-plant nurseries to offer regionally appropriate plant materials grown to order by nurseries and supplied to our community partners. In return community members provide sweat equity: the time, the labor, and land. The habitat kits not only help people plant and nurture habitats that support monarchs and other pollinators, but they also remove financial barriers for groups and individuals who want to help.
Rae Powers shares her no-fuss, low-stress approach to seed saving and Corin Pease tells how pollinator demonstration gardens can spark inspiration.
Update on projects undertaken by Xerces' team of restoration ecologists, entomologists, plant ecologists, and researchers. Sarah Nizzi shares the lessons she learned from private landowners restoring habitat with native seed in Iowa, and Anna Murray recounts progress on farm habitat installations on the west coast.
In this month's Pollinator Team Digest, Jessa Kay Cruz recounts the hard work needed to track down sources of native plant seeds in the hills of California’s East Bay region and Stephanie Frischie describes the work done on our Soil Life initiative.
In July's Pollinator Team Digest, Sarah Hamilton Buxton describes a multi-organization collaboration bringing pollinator plantings to the heart of Bismarck, ND, and Jennifer Hopwood introduces the amazing life beneath our feet that is at the center of a new conservation initiative focused on soil life.
In this month's update from our pollinator conservation team, Kelly Gill reports on the successful distribution of habitat kits across a nine-state region of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and Sarah Foltz Jordan describes a multi-farm project to expand pollinator habitat in Wisconsin.
