Celebrate National Pollinator Week this week, June 22-26, and consider the benefits trees provide to pollinators.

The Town of Hillsborough recognizes the week each year to raise awareness about the importance of supporting native pollinators. Hillsborough has held the Bee City USA designation since 2016, through efforts of the Hillsborough Garden Club and the town’s tree board.

During drought conditions, you can support pollinators by providing access to water. The Xerxes Society recommends using a small, shallow water dish and changing the water frequently. The international nonprofit group promotes conservation of invertebrates.

Native Trees

The Hillsborough Tree Board invites you to consider how trees benefit many pollinating insects and birds. Trees:

• Supply food for caterpillars, which are a food source for many birds. 
• Supply nectar and pollen, serving as an early source of pollen in spring.
• Provide temporary cover and refuge from heat.
• Serve as a windbreak for flying insects.

In the fall, consider planting one or more of the following native trees. In 2024, the Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution that promotes the use of native plants and the elimination of invasive plants on town property. Native plants are key to the lifecycles of native pollinators.

• American Holly (Ilex opaca) — Provides year-round cover through dense foliage. The flowers provide nectar for bees and butterflies, including Henry’s elfin butterfly.
• Black cherry (Prunus serotina) — Hosts as many as 450 insect species, including tiger swallowtail, red-spotted purple and spring azure butterflies.
• Carolina silverbell (Halesia caroliniana) — Hosts seven species of butterflies and moths, including eastern tiger swallowtail, mourning cloak and red-spotted purple butterflies.
• Chickasaw plum (Prunus angustifolia) — Hosts spring azure, red-spotted purple, coral hairstreak and other butterflies. 
• Common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) — Hosts luna moths.
• Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) — Hosts juniper hairstreak butterfly. Songbirds and small mammals eat its fruits.
• Hackberry (Celtis laevigata) — Exclusively hosts caterpillars of the hackberry emperor, American snout, tawny emperor, and other butterflies.
• Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) — Hosts zebra swallowtail.
• Serviceberry (Amelanchier Canadensis) — One of the first native trees to bloom. It provides flowers for the earliest group of pollinators and is a larval host to the red-spotted purple and the viceroy butterflies.
• White oak (Quercus alba) — Hosts hundreds of insects, including hairstreak and duskywing skipper butterflies, imperial moths, treehoppers and walking sticks.

More Information

Informative landscaping videos and other resources are available on the town’s Bee City USA page. Read the mayor’s proclamation recognizing National Pollinator Week.