Ideas for Beating the Heat

Tiger moth in Okanogan County, WA

The extreme heat forecast for the coming week might provide an opportunity to stay inside and do some armchair natural history adventuring. This is National Pollinator Week , so you might want to learn a bit about our Pacific Northwest pollinators. I really like the flyer, 7 Things You Can Do For Pollinators. My newest favorite publication with terrific original art illustrations is a free USFS booklet, Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants.

Lisa Robinson’s photo of Bombus huntii, a Pacific Northwest native Bumblebee

Take a peek into the summer Wenatchee Naturalist eNews for your reading pleasure, with a focus on native pollinators. I’ve listed several excellent web-based talks and resources to check out. The Xerces Society is pollinator-central for terrific resources to guide your learning adventures. They have assembled a webpage full of Pollinator Conservation Resources for the Pacific Northwest. You can download a free USFS field guide, Bumble Bees of the Western US.

Lisa Robinson’s photo of a Painted Lady (Vanessia cardui) on a shrub-steppe native rabbitbrush

If you have a hankering to start learning to identify butterflies and moths, look at this Wenatchee Naturalist bibliography to get started. Or, read about my blog post about native plants along the Hummingbird Highway . If you are wondering how to make your home landscape more pollinator-friendly, check out local landscape horticulturist and designer, Betsy Dudash’s guest post here. Stay cool!