The Non-Native Plants That Can Still Feed Native Pollinators
Roadsides share some of the characteristics of the open meadows and prairies that pollinators favor. Non-native plants introduced to North America from Europe — sweet clover, chicory and birdsfoot trefoil among them — can still provide nectar and pollen for native bumble bees, solitary bees and hover flies.
The trade-off is traffic: pollinators can be killed by fast-moving vehicles if they stray from the vegetated margins or try to cross the road. A detailed synthesis study concluded that the benefits of roadside enhancements for pollinators likely outweigh the costs.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
The non-native flowers are doing real work here. A chicory patch may not be a restored prairie, but it can still be a lunch stop for native bees.
Lunch stop is the right phrase, and that is the limit worth keeping in view. A flower-rich margin next to fast traffic can also draw pollinators into danger; the synthesis judgment is that benefits likely outweigh costs, not that roadsides are safe by default.