It is impossible to list the many fine publications, websites, blogs, and apps on gardening for and learning more about pollinators. Below are the resource lists from: I Spy! Who’s Using My Garden? A Pollinator Garden Workbook. Use them and others to help you build, improve, or monitor your pollinator paradise.

These resources focus on North American pollinators.

SUGGESTED BOOKS ON POLLINATOR I.D. AND GARDENS
All are available at your local bookstore or from online booksellers.

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants by Douglas W. Tallamy – Timber Press
Attracting Native Pollinators by the Xerces Society – Storey Press
The Bee-Friendly Garden by Kate Frey and Gretchen LeBuhn – Ten Speed Press
Pollinator-Friendly Gardening by Rhonda Fleming Hayes – Voyageur Press
The Bees in Your Backyard: A Guide to North American Bees by Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia Messinger Carril – Princeton University Press
Bees: An Identification & Native Plant Forage Guide (Midwest, Great Lakes, & Northeast Regions) by Heather Holm – Pollination Press LLC
Bumblebees of North America: An Identification Guide by Paul H. Williams, Robbin W. Thorp, Leif L. Richardson, Sheila R. Colla – Princeton Field Guides
California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists by Gordon W. Frankie, Robbin W. Thorp, Rollin E. Coville, and Barbara Ertter – Heydey Press. See also the pocket guide – Common Bees in California Gardens Jadallah, Frankie, Thorp, Coville, Leon-Guerrero, and Feng – University of California pub. #3552
Field Guide: The Common Bees of California (and Western U.S.) by Gretchen Lebuhn – University of California Press
The Bee: A Natural History by Noah Wilson-Rich – Princeton University Press
Mason Bee Revolution: How the Hardest Working Bee Can Save the World One Backyard at a Time by Dave Hunter and Jill Lightner – Skipstone Press
Butterflies and Moths – (Updated) A Golden Guide by Robert Mitchell and Herbert S. Zim, – St. Martin’s Press
Hummingbirds and Butterflies by Bill Thompson III, Connie Toops (Peterson Field Guides/Bird Watcher’s Digest Backyard Bird Guides)

ON-LINE RESOURCES
Search the internet by subject to find many more resources

Post your images to Bug Guide (insects only) or iNaturalist (all life) for help with identifications.

BEES

printable pocket guides and posters

The Pollinator Partnership and Xerces Society are tremendous educational resources. I highly recommend visits to their sites and support for their efforts.

“Identifying the Western Bumble Bee” (Xerces Society) https
Encyclopedia of Life (EOL): “Bee Observer Cards” (Harvard University & National Park Service) http://eol.org/info/disc_observer#bees.pdf
Pollinator Partnership (Download the free pdf versions or purchase to support the Partnership) http://pollinator.org/shop/books
“Bee Basics: An Introduction to Our Native Bees” By Beatriz Moisset, Ph.D and Stephen Buchmann, Ph.D (Pollinator Partnership)
Common Groups of California Bees (UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab) http://www.helpabee.org/common-bee-groups-of-ca.html

photo site

USGS: Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab (photos of the lab’s mounted, identified specimens) https://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/

BUTTERFLY AND MOTH I.D.

Welcome Wildlife: Basic and Clear Characteristics of Butterflies vs Moths. (a good starting place) https://www.welcomewildlife.com/all-about-butterflies-and-moths/
Butterflies and Moths of North America: Help with identifying species https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/identify
Discover Life: use characteristics to drill down to your species. A challenge to use, so not recommended for beginners, but comprehensive. http://www.discoverlife.org/nh/
Xerces Society (U.S. and Canada) Monarch & Bumble bee, Pollinator conservation programs and info. https://xerces.org/
Monarch Joint Venture https://monarchjointventure.org/

HUMMINGBIRDS

Audubon: How to Create a Hummingbird-Friendly Yard http://www.audubon.org/content/how-create-hummingbird-friendly-yard
Hummingbirds at Home Citizen Science Project: https://www.hummingbirdsathome.org/
Hummingbird Checklists by Country: https://www.rubythroat.org/ChecklistsCountriesMain.html
Hummingbird Checklists U.S.: http://www.rubythroat.org/checklistsusstatesmain.html
Hummingbird Species U.S. and Canada: http://www.hummingbird-guide.com/hummingbird-species.html

APPS

Nature: iNaturalist (iOS) submit plant and animal sightings. Help with identification.

Bees: U.S. Bumble Bee Watch (iOS. Android coming) Bumble Bee Watch app created by Birds In the Hand, LLC

Butterflies & moths: Butterfly Collection: (iOS) Photos of butterflies from around the world. http://hunter.pairsite.com/butterfly/

Birds: “Merlin Bird”: by Cornell Lab: http://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ quick identification tool for all levels of birders

WHAT PLANTS ARE BEST FOR MY POLLINATORS? Answer: Native plants start at the wholesale growers’, then cared for by the nursery without spray or systemic pesticides. When buying at a nursery, ask whether its plants are pesticide free. Pesticides include chemicals that kill insects, fungus and mildew, or other plant pathogens.

Honeybee in native spring flowers

Use books, online, and local area resources to learn about gardening for pollinators. What pollen and nectar sources do yours prefer? Which pollinators are “generalists,” those that visit a wide range of flowers (honeybees and hummingbirds, for example)? Which are “specialists” connected to specific plants (monarch and milkweed)? The specialists are disappearing most rapidly, so try to meet their host and nectar plant needs first. Don’t forget to include shrubs and trees.

ONLINE AND LOCAL RESOURCES

Check your local university’s Cooperative Extension Service (or Canadian equivalent), USDA office, state Native Plant Societies, local Master Gardeners, public pollinator garden or nurseries knowledgeable about local pollinator plants. Whenever possible, plant natives, as they co-evolved with pollinators and are the best plants to ensure the best nutrition and reproductive outcomes for pollinators.

U.S. and Canada — The best resource for finding native plants in your area is your local native plant society. Many have a website and social media presence. The links below will help you locate (and join!) yours and more.

North American Native Plant Society http://nanps.org/native-plant-societies/
Plant Native (regional plant lists and native plant nurseries in your area) http://www.plantnative.org/index.htm
USDA Plants Database: “The PLANTS Database provides standardized information about the vascular plants, mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and lichens of the U.S. and its territories.” https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/java/
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: https://www.wildflower.org/ Look under the “Native Plants” tab.
Xerces Society (helpful chart includes bloom seasons): https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/plant-lists/
Native Plant Finder — ranks by butterfly and moth use as host plants https://www.nwf.org/NativePlantFinder/
Recommended U.S. and Canadian native plants by state and province: https://www.wildflower.org/collections/
Butterflies and Moths of North America: Help with identifying species and their individual habitats, food, and reproductive needs. https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/identify