Over fifty-six families of insects inhabit Pipestone National Monument. More than a few of them serve as important pollinators and are crucial to our health and economy. Thousands of specimens representing these families can be found within the Monument's boundary. While there are too many insects to list individually, the articles below will tell you more about them and their many contributions to a healthy environment.
Locations:Crater Lake National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve, Redwood National and State Parks, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Curious about the monarch butterfly in southern Oregon and northern California? Explore its natural history in this edition of our quarterly “Featured Creature,” brought to you by the Klamath Inventory and Monitoring Network.
Locations:Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Pollinators make life as we know it possible. Yet, their populations are in decline. To take action, the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park works with researchers to track pollinator populations.
Locations:Assateague Island National Seashore, Big Thicket National Preserve, Biscayne National Park, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, Channel Islands National Park, Fire Island National Seashore, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Glacier National Park, Great Basin National Park, Indiana Dunes National Park, Isle Royale National Park, Mojave National Preserve, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Petrified Forest National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Yellowstone National Parkmore »
Can you name five bees in your park? Ten? Twenty? Will they all be there 50 years from now? We know that pollinators are key to maintaining healthy ecosystems—from managed almond orchards to wild mountain meadows. We have heard about dramatic population declines of the agricultural workhorse, the honey bee. Yet what do we really know about the remarkable diversity and resilience of native bees in our national parks?
Locations:Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, Colorado National Monument, Devils Tower National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Fossil Butte National Monument, Isle Royale National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Minute Man National Historical Park, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Padre Island National Seashore, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Wind Cave National Parkmore »
Offices:Inventory and Monitoring Division, Natural Resources Stewardship & Science
Pollinators play a crucial role in national park ecosystems and beyond. In the national parks, species inventories help managers know which pollinators are present, and in what abundance, to better understand the state of park ecosystems and make decisions about how to manage them. From 2024 to 2026, 17 parks across the country will be surveyed for bees and butterflies.
Locations:Antietam National Battlefield, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Monocacy National Battlefield, National Capital Parks-East, Prince William Forest Park, Rock Creek Park, Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Artsmore »
Native grasslands once covered vast swaths of the southeastern U.S. Learn how national parks in DC, Maryland, and Virginia are working on conserving, rehabilitating, and restoring these grassland communities.
Acadia National Park has a long history of documenting pollinator species in the park. Those surveys continue to occur throughout the park to help researchers better understand the health of bumblebee populations.
The changing climate impacts pollinators by shifting growing and blooming seasons and potentially weakening the plant populations that pollinators depend on. Additionally, warmer temperatures have altered migration patterns, affecting pollinator species like Monarch butterflies.
Locations:Alagnak Wild River, Aleutian Islands World War II National Historic Area, Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Denali National Park & Preserve, Gates Of The Arctic National Park & Preserve, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Sitka National Historical Park, Wrangell - St Elias National Park & Preserve, Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preservemore »
This field guide to bumble bees will help you identify these abundant and conspicuous pollinators, which are found across most of Alaska. They are well-adapted to cold, harsh climates and live in every habitat where there are flowers offering up pollen and nectar, including forests, shrublands, tundra, wetlands, riparian areas, beaches, and gardens.
June 2018 - Bees, butterflies and moths are crucial to the overall health and well-being of our global economy and food security. While the government and scientists continue to research new ways to protect pollinators from current threats, there are things concessioners can do to help protect pollinator populations.
Ticks may be small, but veterinarian epidemiologist, Danielle Buttke, explains how they tell a bigger story. (Adapted from a post from the Instagram series called #sciencedeskdigs that highlights the stories and work of NRSS scientists).
Ecologist, Colleen Flanagan Pritz explains why dragonflies are important to national parks. (Adapted from a post from the Instagram series called #sciencedeskdigs that highlights the stories and work of NRSS scientists).
