The Best Place for Native Bees is in Your Garden!

Sam Droege, renowned native bee expert, takes you on a deep dive into the relationship between native plants and the keystone species in nearly all terrestrial ecosystems--native bees. The survival of native bees is rooted in conserving a diversity of native plants. Learn why native bees are so important and how your landscaping practices impact these creatures. Learn, too, about the plants needed by our rarest “specialist” bees who gather pollen from a single family, genus, or even a single plant species, and are most in need of conservation. Photo right: A colorful green sweat bee, a species that frequently visits native plants in residential yards. SAM DROEGE is an author and biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Wildlife Biologist at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD. He's an international expert on both birds and pollinator species.