2025 PPA National Symposium

The monarch butterfly is probably the most famous insect specialist, but did you know that many native bees are also specialists? Female native bee specialists or oligoleges, collect pollen from a narrow range of native plants; this could mean just one plant genus or species, or many genera that belong to one plant family. Heather will highlight many of these native plant-bee specializations as well as the overlapping habitat requirements of the bees and plants. The presentation will also include the threats to specialists such as habitat loss and climate change. Take aways will involve not just understanding which plants to offer as a grower or include in a design, but also answer the “Why?”.