Lilac (Syringa vulgaris) - by no means to be confused with the unrelated butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii) or the black elder (Sambucus nigra) - is not a native plant, but arrived in our latitudes as a Southeast European immigrant in the 16th century. In the meantime, the popular flowering plant has been classified as a "neophyte" due to its pronounced tendency to spread. Despite the magnificent and strongly fragrant flowers, lilacs are usually of no interest to insects.
Bees love lilacs
Many insects are threatened with extinction
Bees, bumblebees, butterflies - many insect species have been declining in their populations for years, some are even threatened with extinction. The reason for the threatening insect mortality is the sterile cultural landscape, which no longer provides sufficient food in the form of flowering and nectar-producing plants, especially from the middle / end of July. Meadows and lawns are mowed regularly to prevent wild herbs and flowers from appearing and possibly seeding. In addition, there are more and more hybrid breeds in the gardens, which are beautiful to look at, but which are worthless from an ecological point of view - they produce little or no nectar and are therefore not suitable as forage plants.
Which is why lilacs are of no interest to bumblebees, bees and butterflies
This also applies to many noble lilacs, which are not only uninteresting for insects for this reason. Even wild lilac varieties are not suitable as a flower (as the beekeeper says), because the shrub smells wonderfully sweet - but tastes extremely bitter due to its toxic ingredients. This of course also applies to its nectar. However, since bumblebees, bees and Co. are looking for sweet sugar, they literally starve in front of a richly flowering lilac bush.
Which flowering plants are suitable as insect costumes
If you want to do something good for insects looking for nectar, you should preferably cultivate suitable forage plants in your garden or on the balcony. These include, for example, the butterfly bush or butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii), which is particularly popular with butterflies. Also very popular with insects are:
- Snow heath - flowering period January to April
- Cornus - flowering time February to March, edible fruits
- Gorse - flowering period between May and July
- Blackberries - edible fruits
- Prairie Candle / Prairie Candle - long flowering period from June to October
- Lavender - flowering period between June and September
- Thyme - blooms between June and July
- Marjoram - flowering time between June and July
- Zinnias - flowering period from June to October
- Coneflower / Echinacea - flowering period from July to September
- Globe thistle - flowering period between July and September
- Wasserdost - flowering period between July and September
- Stonecrop - flowering period between August and October
- Autumn and winter asters - flowering time into November
tips
In the garden center you can purchase seed bags for insect-friendly wild meadows. These can be spread well on a piece of lawn, which is then used to feed insects.