The flower’s colorful petals, its fragrance, and the sweet juice called nectar all are designed to attract pollinators. In most flowers, the petals form an outer ring and the stamens are just inside, forming a second ring around the pistil. Pollen contains the genetic material that must be transferred from the (male) stamens to the (female) pistil for pollination (fertilization) to occur. The stamens in these flowers are ready for pollinatorsįlowers are the reproductive organs of plants. Oaks are host plants for over 550 species of caterpillars! Think of Oaks as the grocery store for bird families. You cannot go wrong planting a White Oak ( Quercus alba), Red Oak ( Quercus rubra), Scarlet Oak ( Quercus coccinea), Pin Oak ( Quercus palustris), Bur Oak ( Quercus macrocarpa), or any other Oak tree native to our region.
The undisputed MVP of caterpillar-producing trees is the native Oak ( Quercus spp.). So, which are the best trees to have around if you want to feed the birds? Oak
Recent studies have ranked native tree species for their ability to host caterpillars. In contrast, many native trees are hosts for hundreds of different species of caterpillars, so they produce lots of bird food.Īmong native trees, some species are much more productive hosts than others. A bird searching for caterpillars on a Norway Maple will find nothing to feed her babies.
A pair of chickadees needs 7,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to raise 3 baby chicksĬaterpillars, quite literally, grow on trees – but only on native trees! For example, not one species of caterpillar has been observed growing to maturity (to become a moth or butterfly) on Norway Maple, a non-native tree.
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