Keep an eye out around campus, because there’s now a lot more to look at on both the ground and in the air!

The Plants

As part of our honor in being part of the Bee Campus community, we shall be creating numerous pollinator sanctuaries around campus. The flowers in these pollinator sanctuaries shall be in bloom throughout the growing year. They will provide a consistent source of food and refuge for pollinators and a beautiful mosaic for us to admire.

If you'd like to create a pollinator sanctuary yourself, search for neonicotinoid-free, non-GMO wildflower mixes native to your area. Present in the ecological hotspots on campus shall be a variety of wildflowers, namely:

NamePicture
White Yarrowgrounds-pollinators-flowers-White-Yarrow
European Columbinegrounds-pollinators-flowers-European-Columbine
Dwarf Cornflowergrounds-pollinators-flowers-dwarf-cornflower
Siberian Wallflowergrounds-pollinators-flowers-siberian-wallflower
Shasta Daisygrounds-pollinators-flowers-shasta-daisy 1
Chicorygrounds-pollinators-flowers-chicory
Lance-Leaved Coreopsisgrounds-pollinators-flowers-Lance-Leaved-Coreopsis
Sweet Williamgrounds-pollinators-flowers-sweet-william
Perennial Lupinegrounds-pollinators-flowers-perennial lupine
Purple Echinacea/Coneflowergrounds-pollinators-flowers-purple-echinacea
Firewheelgrounds-pollinators-flowers-Fireflower
Annual Baby's Breathgrounds-pollinators-flowers-Annual_Baby_s Breath
Dwarf Annual Candytuftgrounds-pollinators-flowers-dwarf-annual-candytuft
Spurred Snapdragongrounds-pollinators-flowers-spurred-snapdragon
Scarlet Flaxgrounds-pollinators-flowers-scarlet-flax
Evening Primrosegrounds-pollinators-flowers-Evening-Primrose
Shirley Poppygrounds-pollinators-flowers-shirley-poppy
Black-Eyed Susansgrounds-pollinators-flowers-Black-Eyed_Susan
Catchflygrounds-pollinators-flowers-catchfly

The Pollinators

Some pollinators that these plants would help out are hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, beetles, and flies. Aa few snapshots of them are shown below.

NamePicture
Hummingbirdsgrounds-pollinators-hummingbird
Butterflies and Mothsgrounds-pollinators-monarch-butterfly
Bees and Waspsgrounds-pollinators-bumblebee
Beetlesgrounds-pollinators-banded-longhorn-beetle
Fliesgrounds-pollinators-flower-fly

By helping pollinators, we not only can appreciate their beauty but also the immense help that they give to the local ecosystems that provide us with food, clean air and water, and countless other intangible gifts. So please enjoy the sight of these patches of natural color, and also know that they are helping to strengthen our ecological community here at UMass Lowell!