Pledges lead to action

Every month our writers and magazine team made specific pledges about how they would help pollinators and we asked you to join us by acting on them too. Thank you for your enthusiastic responses – our research shows:

79%

said they’d introduced evening-scented plants to support moth populations – such as honeysuckle, evening primrose and hebes. Moths flying at night aren’t attracted to colourful flowers in the way butterflies are, so plants that smell good in the evening help them locate the nectar.

66%

said they’d added food plants for caterpillars, such as holly, ivy and nettles. Every butterfly and moth was once a caterpillar and many caterpillars only feed on a small number of plant types, so to get more flying adults you need to plant food for their young.

65%

said they’d left dandelions to flower for hungry bees just emerging from hibernation.

In late winter and early spring, queen bumblebees coming out of hibernation need to find nectar and pollen quickly so they can build new colonies. Dandelions are the perfect flower for this.