Asters are critical late summer and fall forage for native bees including many pollen-collecting specialists. Heather will explore the nutritional components of the nectar and pollen of asters and their fall-bloooming cousins the goldenrods, and demonstrate the importance of these two groups of plants for native bees as well as migratory pollinating insects such as butterflies.
About Heather Holm
I am a a biologist, pollinator conservationist, and award-winning author. I passionately inform and educate audiences nationwide, through my writing and many presentations, about the fascinating world of native pollinators and beneficial insects, and the native plant communities that support them.
I am the author of four books: Pollinators of Native Plants (2014), Bees (2017), Wasps (2021), and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States (2022). Both Bees and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award (2018 and 2022 respectively). My expertise includes the interactions between native pollinators and native plants, and the natural history and biology of native bees and predatory wasps. My work has been featured in the New York Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and many local publications. I am also an accomplished photographer and my pollinator photos are frequently featured in print and electronic publications.