Flower visitations and preferences among insect pollinators in southeastern NC

Pollinators are vital contributors to natural ecosystem functions but are increasingly facing challenges, including habitat loss and resource depletion. One way to support pollinator populations is to establish a pollinator garden that offers a wide variety of flower species conducive to varying pollinator groups. However, the effects of floral abundance and richness in a garden are not well documented. Additionally, environmental variables such as temperature and light have some degree of predictive power in explaining visitation rates. We hypothesized that increased floral species richness and abundance support increases in visitations by providing different flower shapes and colors favorable to each pollinator group, and increased temperature support higher visitation rates since most pollinators are ectotherms. To assess the effects of flower abundance and richness and temperature on visitation rates, direct observations were conducted in the UNCP Campus Garden and the adjacent lawn area. 71 observation plots were established, and floral richness and abundance were recorded in each. Temperature and cloud cover were recorded at observation times. A total of 9,667 visitors were observed on 70 flower varieties during 70.25 hours of observation. Flower abundance and temperature positively affected overall visitation rates. Increased temperature positively affected native bee visitation rates and increased floral abundance positively affected butterfly visitation rates. Observations suggest evidence of specialization among visitor groups A successful pollinator garden in southeastern NC offers a wide variety of flowers with traits conducive to each visitor group and large flower abundance, accompanied by warmer temperatures to promote insect activity.