What they need to succeed
Bees, butterflies and birds have many overlapping needs. These are not difficult to provide if you know what they are!
Supporting Bees
Food-
Bees need access to nectar and pollen from early spring to late fall. -Some plants produce more nectar and some produce more pollen (usually flowers with open faces). Trying to design your garden so there are things in bloom from early spring to fall is one of the best ways to support bee diversity, as many are active that entire time, and others are only active for small periods of the year.
Water-
Just like us bees and insects need access to water. Generally, they seem to prefer sources of water that are a bit murky. They need water sources with shallow sloped edges so they can drink without getting stuck and drowning..
Places to raise young-
The majority of bees are ground nesters, and others use hollow stems or cavities.
-Some will dig small holes in bare compacted or sandy soil
-some will lay their eggs in hollowed plant stems or tunnels in dead wood made by beetles or other insects (elderberry and asters are examples of plants with pithy or hollow stems that can be used by stem nester)
-Bumble bees naturally nest in abandoned mouse nests below ground, under dense vegetation or other premade cavities. They can be fairly opportunistic sometimes building their nests in birdhouses as well.
Overwintering –
Bees also need certain materials to make it through the winter. These can include piles of leaves/plant debris, dead stems of plants left up, underground etc. When people clean or tidy up their gardens before winter or early spring, they’re often disposing of a lot of beneficial insect larvae that are overwintering in this material including bees, moths, butterflies and more.
Supporting Butterflies
Food-
As adults, butterflies mainly require nectar that they can get from a wide variety of plants since they are generalists and have long tongues (proboscises) that allow them to access nectar from a wide variety of plants. They may travel large distances in search of appropriate nesting areas. However, their limiting factor is their needs as caterpillars. Caterpillars can only feed on very specific plants (or groups of plants)called host plants Without access to their species host plants, the butterflies cannot reproduce successfully.
We may think of them as pretty fluttery creatures, but other nutrient sources important for butterflies include mud puddles, feces, & carrion! These all provide other important nutrients/minerals butterflies need.
Places to raise young –
Butterflies need host plants as described above. They also require dead leaves or uncompacted soil for their pupa to rest while they transform into adult butterflies.
Habitat-
Butterflies typically like more open warm areas where the sun shines and don’t generally fly in cool shady areas of forest.
Overwintering-
Similar to bees, many butterflies will overwinter in leaf piles, plant debris or in the soil (either as eggs, or even caterpillars, pupa, or adults). Try to leave these intact and avoid disturbance.
Supporting Birds
Food-
Different songbird species eat seeds, berries, and insects, while hummingbirds are also pollinators and need nectar (plus invertebrates).
Native plants can provide all of these resources. Planting a diversity of them essentially turns your entire yard into a year round bird feeder, and allows you to cater to many more bird species.
Water-
Birds also need water sources with shallow edges. These must be close enough to cover that they can hide from predators. Make sure there are clear lines of sight so cats cannot sneak up on them and kill them while they are distracted.
Places to raise young-
Birds need plants at a variety of different layers to provide cover. Different species nest on the ground, in cavities in trees, and in shrubs and the tree canopy. Many young birds will leave their nest before they are capable of flight. These fledglings need cover to hide in while their parents are still feeding them and they learn how to fend for themselves. Incorporating a variety of shrubs, ground covers and other plants helps to create this habitat and allow birds to have higher breeding success in more urban areas.
Overwintering-
Many birds migrate, but the ones who stay around can be supported by native plants in the landscape. Winter food sources include berries, insects and seed heads. This is yet another reason to leave leaf piles since many birds will forage on the insects they find there as well as in bark crevices and rotting wood as all of these will attract birds and provide habitat and food over the harsh winter months. Many of our native plants produce berries or seeds after flowering that persist into the winter, such as False Lily of the Valley, Snowberry, Mountain Ash and many more.