Pollinator Conservation

Making the Connection – The Habitat Organization Connection

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are committed to establishing quality habitat that is equally beneficial to pheasants, quail, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. In the first few months of life, pheasant and quail chicks, like most bird species, depend on soft-bodied insects as their primary food source. Those soft-bodied insects are attracted to the many species of flowering plants included in pollinator habitat seed mixes. Pollinator habitat is a win-win for upland / migratory birds and many species of pollinating insects.

Impact Numbers

Pollinator Habitat Outreach Program

Since 2014,

Milkweed in the Classroom

Since 2021

Field Biolgists

Native Seed Mixes

Since 2015

What Is Pollinator Habitat?

Pollinator habitat includes a high-diversity of native plants that may be utilized by pollinators, other beneficial insects, and wildlife for foraging, nesting, and, sometimes, overwintering habitat. Pollinators need native wildflowers, or forbs, since their blooms provide pollen and nectar. In general, the greater amount of native plant species we restore to the landscape, the greater biodiversity we can support in that habitat.

Native plants also have extensive root systems so restoring them to the landscape improves soil health, water infiltration, and water quality. These root systems also sequester carbon and stabilize the soil.

Monarch & Pollinator Biology

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) has declined significantly over the last 20 years. The story of the monarch is sadly the same as many of our other pollinators, upland game birds, and grassland songbirds. There are many contributing factors for the decline of these populations, however, many of these can be attributed ultimately to habitat loss.

There are three distinct populations of monarchs in the United States: the western population that is west of the Rockies that overwinters along the coast in California, the eastern population that is found east of the Rockies that overwinters in Central Mexico, and a small non-migratory population found in southern Florida. The western and eastern populations of monarchs are monitored by scientists while they’re occupying the overwintering sites.

Monarchs rely on their host plant, milkweed species, during their larval, or caterpillar, life stage. There are 73 species of native milkweeds in the United States. Adult monarch butterflies rely on blooming plants for nectar during their migration that takes place through the spring, summer, and fall. The Habitat Organization is dedicated to providing high-quality habitat that includes native wildflowers and milkweed species to benefit monarchs and other pollinators.

Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever are proud partners of the Monarch Joint Venture (MJV). To learn more about the amazing migration and biology of the monarch butterfly, visit the MJV website.

Many species of pollinating insects are in decline. In fact, monarch butterfly populations have decreased 90% in the last two decades and European honey bee populations have followed a similar plummeting trend. While the factors contributing to these declines are complex, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever’s habitat mission is definitely part of the solution. Diverse, native habitat that is beneficial to pheasants, quail, and other upland species, can also benefit our native bees, monarchs, European honey bees, and other pollinators!