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What do "small," "medium" and "large" numbers mean?
They refer to how many insects were collected per meter square in a 30 second sample. Small means less than 2 insects; medium indicates 2 to 10 insects, and large suggests greater than 10 insects. |
home> native plant fact sheets> red-berried elder
Enhancing Beneficial Insects with Native Plants
Red-berried elder
Sambucus racemosa L. |
Group: Dicot
Family: Caprifoliaceae
(honeysuckle)
Growth Habit: Tree/shrub
Duration: Perennial
U.S. Nativity: Native, much of U.S., excluding most of the south
Natural Enemies Attracted: Small numbers of
Thomisidae and Empididae.
Pests Attracted: None.
Bees attracted: Low numbers (less than 1 bee per meter square in a 30 second sample) of Andrenid bees.
Species Notes: White, fragrant flower clusters bloom very early in the season. Shrubs grew to 4 ft tall in 3 years, and will grow up to 6 ft tall. Plants bloomed in early May. This species was the second least attractive to natural enemies in the early season. |
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| About the Plant Species Graph: Average number of beneficial insects collected at each plant species the week before, during, and after peak bloom, for plant species blooming from mid-August through early October (+ standard error). Red-berried elder (Sambucus racemosa) boxed in red. Bars for natural enemies are in green, bars for bees are in yellow. Bars for native plants are solid and nonnative plants are striped. The black line on the top graph shows the number of natural enemies in grass with no flowering plants (grass control). Plants are listed in order of peak bloom. |
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| Habitat: Includes full sun to partial sun, and mid-range soil moisture (neither very wet nor very dry). Naturally occurring along clearings, trails, and borders in beech-maple woods. May also be associated with conifers in thickets, mixed woods, and sometimes swamps.
Cultivation and Management: Can be grown from seed (flowers in third year) or plug material (flowers in second year). Bright red berries mature in June/July, following flowering. This is a good shrub for attracting birds.
Availability: Species is available as seed, plug or container grown material from various native plant nurseries. Michigan Native Plant Producers Association
For more information: USDA-NRCS PLANTS database |
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| This fact sheet prepared by: Doug Landis, Anna Fiedler, Department of Entomology, Michigan State University. Please note: The information presented at this web site should be considered a guideline to be adapted for your situation. MSU makes no warranty about the use of the information presented here. Read disclaimer. |
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