I’m curious, if you are a wildlife biologist, especially if you specialize in hymenopteras, do you have native plants in your landscape??
I once met a conservation biologist who had no idea what was planted in their yard, which I found fascinating.
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Not a wildlife biologist (yet), but this…
…reminded me of a zoologist who taught a course at my uni saying “It’s a real shame that people think just because you studied biology you know shit about plants”. Haha
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On this topic of biological literacy, I think folks like @jnstuart remember “back in the day” when “biologist” was somewhat synonymous with “naturalist”. It meant that you knew about plants, and animals, and stuff like that.
Today, a “biology degree” often refers to MICRO biology, where a person might get an advanced degree (a master’s or a PhD) by staring down a microscope, but they couldn’t pick their study organism out of a lineup.
So today, I talk about “field biology” or “zoology”. I don’t say “biology”, because it conjures up images of pipettes and centrifuges and things.
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This is so wild to me. Especially I think if someone is a conservation biologist, assuming they are doing that job because they actually care about conservation, wouldn’t they want to know how to practice conservation at home?
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Or on-track to pre-med, focused on human biology.
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The opposite is true for me!
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I’m a wildlife biologist and my wife and I have native shrubs and perennials planted in our front yard. It’s a small haven for wildlife and insects. That was after we ripped out the abundant juniper shrubs that were nonnative and brutal during allergy season. The backyard already had well-established shrubs and trees, most nonnative, but the birds like them.
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I am a wildlife biologist (specializing in grassland, wetland, and avian ecology, not hymenopterans). I live in an apartment, but I have a balcony with several half barrels planted with native plants. I’ve also recently volunteered to assist with my community garden’s pollinator patch and am working to convert it to native plants and away from nonnative “pollinator” plants.
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Keep in mind that it can be a big investment in time, effort, and money to convert your yard from established non-natives to natives. Not everyone has the resources to do that even if they recognize the value in it. Also, many non-natives can also be beneficial to wildlife and if they are already well-established in your yard you might not want to rip them out.
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Oh I’m well aware of the cost. It took me years to do that at a previous home with a tiny yard. There are definitely low cost ways to do it. I do a lot of wintersowing in jugs, but also have gotten tons of plants from a local plant swap group, from the dollar rack at a local wholesale nursery, and from one of my jobs. It’s definitely an investment of time and money. My question is not one of judgement but curiousity, does their passion for work translate to their yard.
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I did meet another conservation biologist. I work at a doctor’s office and meet all kinds of people from all walks of life. I always ask the same question, if it’s someone whose job has anything to do with conservation or landscaping, is if they have any native plants in their yard.
This person not only did they have natives in their yard but they also grew them at home and sold them at a local garden center, as a side gig. Then asked me if I wanted any in the spring when he gave some away to friends and family 
they were mostly spring ephemerals and some woodland plants. So I brought some of my wintersown natives as a gift and took plenty of really cool plants home.
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I am a curator, naturalist, and wildlife biologist. My day job is birds but my hobby is now bumblebees with a side of wasps. My wife and I have spent 1000’s of hours and 1000’s of dollars to plant and nurture native plants in our front/back yards.
The property is urban (about 1/4 acre?) and already had many large native pines and hardwoods. But also a variety of non-native plants and shrubs. We got ride of the English Ivy and some other ivy’s I didn’t want. But the shrubs remain (my wife said “If you touch those Gardenia’s and Camellia’s…” - Yikes! ha ha). We learned to work with what we got - with and around.
Our yard quickly became THE place for the arthropods, herps, and birds hanging out in lower strata. Also some small and medium mammals. It’s amazing how many creatures can occur in such a small area, when you cram in all these plants (annuals, perennials, shrubs, trees… plus wood/brush piles; small water elements, dead leaves all over/under).
But I agree as noted above - it’s not for everyone. I do public programs on the topic and I make it palatable for the beginner. We have some excellent local nurseries to work with for natives and those beneficial non-natives.
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That sounds lovely!! And yes! It’s amazing how even a small yard can attract a variety of wildlife! I definitely saw that when I lived in my previous home in our tiny yard.