During iNaturalist’s Pollinator Bioblitz in June, I observed 53 pollinators. That’s 15 species and 51 unique pairings of pollinator to plant. The insects (and bird!) visited 21 different plants, overwhelmingly preferring the native ones. The Bioblitz ran from June 17 to 23, 2024. I tried to photograph every species of pollinator on all the plants that it visited, but of course I missed a lot. Here’s iNat’s summary of what I found, using their photos. Click on the image to get access to my observations, usually including multiple photos of each. Read on to see which plants the pollinators preferred.

Top Pollinator Plants

These plants had the most diverse clientele, by number of visiting species – common name (scientific name). Asterisks mark non-native plant species*.

  • 6 – Clustered Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
  • 6 – Narrow-Leafed Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium)
  • 5 – Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
  • 4 – Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium)
  • 4 – Purpletop Vervain (Verbena bonariensis)
Clustered Mountain Mint
Narrow-Leafed Mountain Mint
Buttonbush
Purpletop Vervain
Rattlesnake Master

Good Pollinator Plants

Also visited by more than one species:

  • 3 – Fall Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
  • 3 – Common Lantana (Lantana camera)
  • 3 – Oregano (unknown species)*
  • 2 – Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata)
  • 2 – Spotted Horse Mint (Monarda punctata)
  • 2 – Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata)
  • 2 – Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
  • 2 – Chinese Abelia (Abelia chinensis)*
  • 2 – Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)*
Fall Phlox
Common Lantana
Oregano
Pickerelweed
Spotted Horse Mint
Dense Blazing Star
Purple Coneflower
Chinese Abelia
Lemon Balm

Plants Visited by One Pollinator Species

I saw only one type of pollinator visit these plants during that week, but they may have feed a large number of individuals. Who knows what I missed?

  • Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca), in top photo for this post
  • Shrubby St. John’s-Wort (Hypericum prolificum)
  • Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
  • Lotus (unknown species)*
  • Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’)
  • Blue Anise Sage (Salvia guaranitica)*
Shrubby St. John’s-Wort
Cardinal Flower
Lotus
Scarlet Bee Balm
Blue Anise Sage

Unvisited Plants

Surprisingly, I didn’t see any visitors to blooming Stoke’s Asters, Indian Paintbrush, Tangerine Beauty Cross-Vine, or Frog Fruit. The Frog Fruit started attracting bumblebees a few days later. Many of these plants will have different numbers and types of pollinators through the season.