Vernonia altissima’s bright flowers provide an important food source for native pollinators found in Pennsylvania and many other surrounding states.
(Photo by Hayley Pontia)
gardening
In Defense of Dandelions
by Andrea Kautz
Dandelions are surely one of the most detested weeds out there, but if you go out on a sunny spring day, you will notice a variety of insects visiting the bright yellow flowers for nectar and pollen.
This is an important early-season food source for many pollinators including bees and flower-visiting flies like the ones pictured here, visiting dandelions in front of Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s environmental research center– Powdermill Nature Reserve–one afternoon last week.
Without flowering weeds like dandelions, our lawns turn into large pollinator food deserts, so maybe we can learn to put up with them.
After all, they are beautiful!
Andrea Kautz is a research entomologist at Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Powdermill Nature Reserve. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working for the museum.
