Pollination
Pollinators like bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and even beetles are vital to Southern California’s gardens and farms. A pollinator-friendly yard can be as simple as planting a variety of native species that bloom at different times of year. Native plants arevaluable, since they have worked with local pollinators for thousands of years and often provide food sources for beneficial native insects. Avoiding pesticides, diversity in gardening, and less grass also make your garden more welcoming.
By creating even a small pollinator patch, you contribute to a larger network of habitats across Riverside County. Groups like the Temecula Native Plant Network heve been organizing and making more pollinator gardens across the area.
One of the best Tools to explore the beneficial insects near you is Inaturalist, a tool which helps scientists and citzens alike collaborate and see the nature around them. You can find INaturalists list of insects in the local region here:
Another tool comes from the University of California Agricutlural and Natural Resources Master Gardener program, these slides go through common insects in the area, whether they re pests or not, and where to find them. The guide is intended for students, but it has information that anyone can use:
If you are wanting a more in depth read on insects in general, check out this publication from Pennstate describing the structure, role, and conservation of insects:
Here is a quick guide for Riverside County on native plants:
And this quick handout from the Xerxes society describes good plants for beneficial insects in Southern California:
Here is a website from the California council on invasive plants, describing which local plants to use instead of common invasives: