Wild Ones Honorary Director Heather Holm shares from her new book, “WASPS,” which features approximately 150 species of flower-visiting wasps that occur in eastern North America, and the specific native plants and habitat each species depend upon.
“WASPS” delves into how beneficial wasps are to humans, mainly insect pest population control and pollination. “This complex web of many wasp-prey and wasp-plant interactions helps ensure ecosystems remain resilient, diverse, and balanced,” Holm writes. “If all wasps were to disappear, it would have a catastrophic effect on several trophic levels of the food web.”
Heather Holm is a biologist, pollinator conservationist, and award-winning author. In addition to assisting with native bee research projects, she informs and educates audiences nationwide, through her writing and many presentations, about the fascinating world of native pollinators and beneficial insects, and the native plant communities that support them.
Heather has compiled and shared native plant lists for eight different regions that attract and support native wasp species. You can view that information at https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/plant-lists–posters.html