“Native flowers are absolutely the best food source for native pollinators, and the pollinators know it.
Pollinators native to your region strongly prefer flowers native to your region. The food quality of native flowers is superior compared to non-native flowers. The nine pollinators in the image to the left (can you find them all!) are willing to crowd together to partake in the high-nutrient content of this stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida). If foraging on a non-native flower is the pollinator equivalent of a steady diet of fast food hamburgers, native flowers are more like selecting the best foods from the produce section of your grocery store.”
—Dave Crawford, naturalist. All images courtesy of Dave Crawford.