Pollinator Plants of Virginia Complete

Thank you to all who helped complete the inaugural Pollinator Plants of Virginia expedition! Pollinators are essential for our environment’s health as well as our food supply. With the completion of this first batch of specimens, we now know just a bit more about pollinators’ favorite foods and where they could be observed feeding.

The Xerces Society (http://www.xerces.org/) is an international society dedicated to the conservation of invertebrates – a taxonomic group that includes the majority of pollinating animals in the mid-Atlantic region. We have used their online resources to assemble this Expedition, which included specimens from over 50 plant genera known to be very attractive to native pollinators. By transcribing these herbarium records, you’ve helped us refine our understanding of these plants’ locations and flowering times, which can be used by pollinator researchers to find their quarry.