Name _______________________________

Pollinator Preferences 
Developed by Lenora Davis, 2020. University of Oregon Environmental Leadership Program.  

 
In this activity, we will be exploring 4 important pollinators! We will learn preferences of each pollinator, and 
then draw a garden designed specifically for them!  

Before beginning 
Write about what you already know about flowers and pollination. 

Background information 
There are many types of pollinators, including b​ irds, bats, bees, butterflies​, and more! Honeybees are often used as 
an example, but there are actually 4​ ,000 species of bees in North America​! There is a l​ot of variety among them​, but 
they do have s​ ome things in common​. 

Bees look for 2 things when finding flowers: 

1. N
​ ectar ​- Provides sugars and the main source of energy.  

2. P
​ ollen​ - An important protein source.  

Pollinators have varying preferences when choosing which flowers they prefer. 

Instructions 
You get to create your own pollinator garden!  

1. R
​ ead​ about the 4
​ pollinators​ below and ​what traits they prefer in flowers​. 

2. Pick a​ t least 2 o​ f the 4 ​pollinators to create a garden for​. 

3. Design a garden for your chosen pollinators and ​draw flowers that they will love​! Feel free to draw real flowers or 
design your own. You can make creative names for your own flower creations! 

4. L​ abel the traits​ of each flower and w

​ hich pollinators will like​ that flower.  

5. OPTIONAL: You can d​ raw the pollinators​ enjoying the flowers in your garden too 
Type of Pollinator  What traits do they like in a flower? 

Bees   ● Color: ​Bright colors​. Blue, purple, violet, 

white, and yellow 
○ Bees cannot see red 
● Need a ​place to land​ before feeding 
● Sweet-smelling 
● Flowers that b​ loom in daytime 

 
Photo Credit: Beyond Toxics 

Butterflies  ● Color: red, orange, yellow, pink, blue 

● Need a ​place to land​ before feeding 
● Flowers that b​ loom in daytime 

 
Photo Credit: MonarchButterflyGarden.net 

Bats  ● Color: Pale or white.  

○ Bats do not have very strong vision, 
so color is not as important as  
● Strong fruity odor 
○ Bats have a keen sense of smell 
● Flowers that b​ loom at night 
○ Bats are nocturnal! 
● Large flowers 
 
Photo Credit: USDA 

Hummingbirds  ● Color: red, orange, purple 

● Shape: t​ ubular  
● Lots of nectar  
○ Hummingbirds live only on nectar 
● Flowers that b​ loom in daytime 
● They need no landing areas since they 
hover while feeding 

 
Photo Credit: Pacific Nurseries 
Create a Pollinator Garden! 
The pollinators I chose to create this garden for are: 
____________________________________________________________________ 

Eco-Challenge! 
If you are able to g​ o outside​, f​ ind some flowers​ and ​wait and watch​ to see if a p​ ollinator comes by​! Write about what 
you see. 

 
 

Example of Pollinator Garden Drawing 

Lenora Davis, University of Oregon. Environmental Leadership Program, 2020. 

References 

https://garden.org/learn/articles/view/1978/  

US Forest Service: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/