Since 2012, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners have conducted three pollinator projects at the Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center (SEAREC) in Landisville.
Master Gardeners monitoring pollinators
Project - Bees, Bugs, and Blooms 2012-2014
Project was funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Project Goal:
- Evaluate native plant species and their cultivars for their attractiveness to pollinators and their suitability for homeowner and agricultural use.
Not all plants are equal in their ability to support pollinators with nectar and pollen. The flowers of some cultivars and modern hybrids may actually lack nectar, or be so complex that pollinators cannot utilize them. Research to determine the plants most beneficial to pollinators will help homeowners and farmers can make better choices when purchasing plants for their properties
Project History:
August 29, 2011 - Penn State Master Gardeners from Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon, and York Counties planted 4,500 plant plugs representing 84 species and cultivars of native plants. Plants were selected that would provide a succession of bloom from spring through fall and that were known to attract pollinators.
2012 to 2014 Two teams of Master Gardeners evaluated plants for their insect visitation and for their vigor and blooming. Monitoring was done weekly. Monitoring was done by observation and collection. Collected insects were identified at PDA. Results are available online.
Project - Blooms and Beneficials 2015 to 2017
The 2012 to 2014 monitoring yielded some information about the attractiveness of certain plants to predators and parasitoids of the brown marmorated stink bug. Identifying plants that attracted these beneficials would be useful to farmers, orchardists, and homeowners. In 2015, in partnership with the Xerces Society, Master Gardeners began weekly monitoring of 36 different species of native plant and their cultivars for three predatory wasps and one tachinid fly. The predatory wasps were: Bicyrtes quadrifasciatus, Astata unicolor, Astata bicolor and the tachinid fly was Trichopoda pennipes.
Monitoring continued through 2018 and results were shared with the Xerces Society. Results of this study confirmed that Pycnanthemum muticum was the best plant for attracting these three beneficials.
Project - Blooms and Butterflies 2018 to 2020
Information from the 2012 to 2018 monitoring showed that certain plants were more attractive to butterflies. The group decided to build on that data by monitoring 41 plants. Most were already in the trial, but on the advice of the Xerces Society we planted some additional species. In addition to the monitoring plants, we have continued to maintain many of the plants from the original 2012 trials at Blooms and Butterflies as a demonstration garden.
Master Gardeners from Lancaster, Lebanon, and York Counties are participating in the monitoring. Monitoring is scheduled twice a week during the bloom time of the plants which begins in June and ends in late October. In 2018-2019, we identified 32 different butterflies on 41 species of plants and their cultivars.
Our research plot has been visited by a variety of community groups and schools, including a STEM teacher group. We feature it each year in the Summer Garden Experience which is the open house of the Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center. This summer the plot will be on the tour offerings of the Perennial Plant Associations National Conference in Lancaster.
When monitoring is completed this fall we share our results with the Xerces Society. We will also make available online a list of the butterflies that we counted, their abundance and which plants were most attractive to each. In addition, we will provide suggestions for home butterfly gardens.
