Choose the plants

Step 2: Choosing plants that support beneficial insects

bee on a flower

Both pollinators and natural enemies of pests benefit from flowers with pollen and nectar. Many natural enemies of pests eat pollen or nectar, either at certain life stages or in addition to pests. Natural enemies also eat the other small insects—many “neutral”—that are attracted to flowers. Growing flowers rich with nectar and pollen will welcome beneficial insects to your garden, yard, or farm. Increasingly, nurseries and seed companies will label plants that support pollinators. Often, these plants are also good for natural enemies.

Lots of pollen and nectar

Flowers that produce lots of pollen and nectar feed pollinators and natural enemies. They also attract small “neutral” insects that the natural enemies can feed on when they aren’t eating pests.

Plan for season-long blooms

Beneficial insects need food throughout the growing season. So pick a mixture of plant species to provide blooms from early spring through late fall.

Choose a variety of flower shapes

Including diverse flower shapes in your mix is important. While bees have long tongues and can easily access nectar deep in tubular flowers, beetles, flies, and other insects have short mouthparts and will benefit from small or open flowers.  

Annuals vs. perennials

Both will support beneficial insects, although some experts say that perennials tend to be better choices if your focus is bees. Also, in most parts of New York State only perennials will provide very early (April or May) blooms to hungry insects. 

Native vs. native cultivar vs. non-native 

Do you need to plant only native plant species, or is it ok to plant cultivated varieties of native species (“nativars”), or even non-native species? It’s up to you. Of course, you should never plant an invasive species. Some native plants are better resources for some insects (especially some native bees) than are non-native plants. Some nativars are less useful to beneficial insects, while others are as good as the wild species. Some people prefer to grow only native plants, which is a fine approach. But it’s also acceptable to include some non-native plants. If you are considering a native cultivar in a garden center or nursery and it is blooming, check if insects are visiting the flowers. If so, then it probably still has the pollen and nectar resources that will feed beneficial insects. 

Resources for Selecting Plants

NYSIPM Biocontrol Resources

Biocontrol Resources from the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. From plant lists to information about natural enemies, you can find many of our resources online.

Cultivars of Native Plants

University of Maryland Extension.

Ecoregional Planting Guide by the Pollinator Partnership

Search for your ecoregion by zip code to get a list of recommended plants.

Native Plants Suitable Finger Lakes Region of NY

Finger Lakes Native Plant Society maintains a list of native plants native plants suitable for wildflower gardens & meadows or traditional gardens in the NY Finger Lakes

Habitat Planning for Beneficial Insects

A guide by Jennifer Hopwood, Eric Lee-Mäder, Lora Morandin, Mace Vaughan, Claire Kremen, Jessa Kay Cruz, Jim Eckberg, Sarah Foltz-Jordan, Kelly Gill, Thelma Heidel-Baker, and Sara Morris. Published by the Xerces Society and available as a free pdf online.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plants Database

You can either search for information on a plant species, or search for plants based on the criteria that are important to you (like location, sun exposure, bloom time, soil moisture).   

Pollinator-Friendly Native Plant Lists

Lists of pollinator-friendly native plants from the Xerces Society. Choose the list for your region.

Sources for Seeds and Native Plants

No endorsement of these companies is intended, and there are likely other great places to buy seed.

American Meadows

Wildflower seed mixes; some native, others not (250 ft2 areas and up)

Ernst Seed

A variety of mixes for pollinators that are likely to also support natural enemies (minimum order may be 1 lb of seed)

Prairie Moon Nursery

Seed mixes for lots of different settings (to cover areas 500 ft2 and up)

Flatbush Gardener's Map

Flatbush Gardener maintains a map of places to buy native plants, with an emphasis on the NYC area.

Native Plant Society of New Jersey Native Plant Nursery List

The Native Plant Society of New Jersey maintains this Google sheet listing nurseries that sell native plants throughout the mid-Atlantic, including NY.

Let us know if there are other sources of seeds and native plants you’ve used and liked!

This guide was prepared by Amara Dunn. Last updated on 3/17/2023.

Funds were provided by:

  • The Towards Sustainability Foundation
  • USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Smith Lever project 2020-21-108
  • NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets
  • NYS Department of Environmental Conservation