Seed Production and Pollinator Reliance in Native Wildflowers: Guiding Species Selection for Conservation Plantings

These two datasets were used to assess the pollination biology and insect floral visitation patterns of nine native wildflower species from the southeastern United States—Bidens laevis, Desmanthus illinoensis, Echinacea purpurea, Eryngium yuccifolium, Gaillardia pulchella, Monarda punctata, Verbesina alternifolia, Verbesina virginica, and Desmodium floridanum. These species are commonly recommended by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Xerces Society to enhance habitat for native pollinators. One dataset includes results from an insect exclusion experiment designed to evaluate each species’ reliance on insect pollinators for seed production, including seed counts and seed weights per inflorescence for both open- and bagged-pollination treatments. The second dataset includes floral visitation data collected via standardized sweep netting surveys, documenting 1,417 insect specimens representing 73 genera/species from 21 families and 4 insect orders, along with plant-pollinator interaction frequencies suitable for network analysis. Together, these datasets were used to quantify pollinator dependence and identify the most frequent insect visitors. Most wildflower species showed significantly greater seed counts and/or seed weights when exposed to insect pollinators, while a few species demonstrated some capacity for self-pollination. The most common bee pollinators included Halictus poeyi/ligatus (Halictidae), Apis mellifera (Apidae), and Bombus impatiens (Apidae). These data provide valuable insights into the reproductive ecology of native wildflowers and the structure of their pollinator communities. They support the selection of species for pollinator-friendly conservation plantings and inform decisions for native seed producers. Additionally, the findings highlight species capable of seed production in the absence of pollinators, which may help alleviate supply limitations amid increasing demand for native wildflower seed.