Goldenrod's Grand Bargain

In September one of the last great floral displays of the year unfolds at Halibut Point, in the brilliant yellows of goldenrod.

Seaside Goldenrod

Different species of goldenrod have established themselves in varied niches of the landscape.

Goldenrod on quarry wall

Wind-blown seeds help the plants to colonize diverse and unlikely places.

Bumblebees on Showy Goldenrod

The fertilization of those seeds is accomplished by insects eating flower nectar that is produced seductively by the plant. The exchange is Goldenrod's Grand Bargain with ecology and its own future.

Here are some of the insects recruited and compensated by the local goldenrod population.

Flower Fly, Toxomerus marginatus

A bee mimic.

Great Golden Digger Wasp, Sphex ichneumoneus

Flower Weevil, Baridinae sp.

Bicolored Striped-Sweat Bee, Agapostemon virescens

Locust Borer, Megacyllene robiniae

Four-toothed Mason Wasp, Monobia quadridens

American Copper, Lycaena phlaeas

Flower Fly, Spilomyia longicornis

A hornet mimic.

The goldenrod bouquets host a carnival of busyness as the insects find their last great food source of the year.