Pollinator Syndromes predict which animals are most like to visit which plant. Pollinators are those animals that give the invaluable service of helping plants reproduce and create seed or fruit that humans and others eat.

There are many pollinators including bats, bees, beetles, birds and butterflies.

The flower type, shape, color, odor, nectar, and structure vary and attract different pollinators according to the pollinators likes and needs. Such characteristics are pollination syndromes.

Pollinator syndromes aren’t always correct but are used as a starting place to predict interactions. Apparently, only one-third of plants can be accurately classified according to pollinator syndromes.

Plants Butterflies Like

Butterflies generally land on a plant to sip nectar. This is why they tend to visit flat blossoms with many nectar sources or small flowers. The flatness of the blossom provides a nice stable landing pad. Butterflies like asters, sedums, milkweeds and coneflowers for those reasons.

Plants Bees Like

Bees like blossoms that give plenty of nectar and lure the bees in with a sweet fragrance. They tend to visit flowers white or blue

Plants Hummingbirds Like

Hummingbirds tend to visit red, tubular shaped flowers. This is why hummingbird feeders that we fill with sugar-water mixtures have red somewhere on the container.

A Pollinator Syndrome Table

Use the chart below to understand why certain plants attract bees, butterflies or other animals.

Pollinator Syndrome Traits

Trait	Bats	Bees	Beetles	Birds
Color	Dull white, green or purple	Bright white, yellow, blue, or UV	Dull white or green	Scarlet, orange, red or white
Nectar Guides	Absent	Present	Absent	Absent
Odor	Strong musty; emitted at night	Fresh, mild, pleasant	None to strongly fruity or fetid	None
Nectar	Abundant; somewhat hidden	Usually present	Sometimes present; not hidden	Ample; deeply hidden
Pollen	Ample	Limited; often sticky and scented	Ample	Modest
Flower Shape	Regular; bowl shaped – closed during day	Shallow; have landing platform; tubular, c	Large bowl-like, Magnolia	Large funnel like; cups, strong perch support

 

Pollinator Syndrome Traits

Trait	Butterflies	Flies	Moths	Wind
Color	Bright, including red and purple	Pale and dull to dark brown or purple; flecked with translucent patches	Pale and dull red, purple, pink or white	Dull green, brown, or colorless; petals absent or reduced
Nectar Guides	Present	Absent	Absent	Absent
Odor	Faint but fresh	Putrid	Strong sweet; emitted at night	None
Nectar	Ample; deeply hidden	Usually absent	Ample; deeply hidden	None
Pollen	Limited	Modest in amount	Limited	Abundant; small, smooth, and not sticky
Flower Shape	Narrow tube with spur; wide landing pad	Shallow; funnel like or complex and trap-like	Regular; tubular without a lip	Regular: small and stigmas exerted

The table is courtesy the U.S. Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers site.
https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination/syndromes.shtml. Accessed 18 December 2020.

How Can You Use Pollinator Syndromes to Attract Pollinators?

This information is useful in choosing plants to attract butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators to your garden. Often times a flower species that attracts in it’s simple native form does have the same usefulness in an hybrid form, like Zinnias.

When I plant basic flat blossomed Zinnias in my garden, butterflies flock to them. If I plant the “pompom” blossoms with many, many petals, the butterflies don’t visit them nearly as much.

 

Further information on Pollinators and Pollinator Syndromes

Attracting Native Pollinators: The Xerces Society Guide to Conserving North American Bees and Butterflies and Their Habitat

and

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, Updated and Expanded

 

Also See these Posts

Attracting Birds, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators 

Why Are the First Flowers of Spring Often White or Yellow? 

Attracting Pollinators with the Goldenrods

Red Admiral Butterflies and the Flowers that Attract Them