Tag: Native Pollinators

Meet the Native Pollinators: Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Posted on by nycpollinators
black swallowtail butterfly

Meet the Native Pollinators is a series aimed to provide an introduction to the many wild pollinators found in and around the NYC region. Learn more about the Black Swallowtail Butterfly below.

Latin name 

Papilio polyxenes

Size

8-11 cm  (wingspan)

Flight season

April-October

Host Plant

plants in the carrot (Apiaceae) family, including Queen Anne’s lace, parsley, carrots, and dill

Habitat 

Parks, gardens, fields, meadows, and marshes

Interesting fact

Black Swallowtail Butterflies have a tube-like tongue called a proboscis that they use to sip nectar.

black swallowtail butterfly

 

PHOTO by Diana Gruberg

 

Meet the Native Pollinators: Eastern Bumblebee

Posted on by Jennifer Nitzky

Common Eastern Bumble Bee

Bombus impatiens, the common eastern bumble bee, is the most commonly encountered bumblebee across much of eastern North America.

Latin name 

Bombus impatiens

Size: 15-25mm

Flight season: March-November

Flower preferences

Feeds on a variety of flowers, including clovers, asters, goldenrods, and thistles 

Habitat 

Parks, gardens, fields, and meadows

Interesting facts

They are social bees that live in colonies and make their nests underground, often in old rodent holes or burrows. The nests of B. impatiens do not have a predictable pattern and lay egg clumps all over inside the nest instead of having one brood area.

 

 

PHOTO by Arsilia Derenzo 

 

Learn more about the Eastern Bumble Bee at iNaturalist.org or NWF.org

Read more of our Meet the Pollinators posts HERE