Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge

Recognizing the value pollinators provide to humans and our ecosystem, Penguin Court, a preserve of the Brandywine Conservancy, and the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners, a consortium of over two dozen gardens in Westmoreland County that promote and protect pollinators, are pleased to announce the sixth annual Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge.

Open to the public, this contest accepts submissions from people of all ages.

Images must include a pollinator found and photographed in Pennsylvania, such as bees, beetles, butterflies, flies, hummingbirds, moths, or wasps in any of their life stages. Photos of people hand-pollinating plants will be considered, too; however, the person must provide written consent if they are identifiable in the image. Please do not include photographs of pollinators taken in conservatories, butterfly houses, and the like. We want to promote native pollinators.

A person may submit a maximum of three entries, which must be submitted electronically by August 2, 2026. First, second, and third place winners, as well as honorable mentions, will be announced at the “Monarchs, Milkweed, and More” event on Saturday, August 15, 2026 at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier. Additionally, a first-place prize will be awarded to the person who takes the best photograph of a monarch butterfly, in any of its life stages, since Westmoreland Pollinator Partners have set a goal to certify 250 new Monarch Waystations in the Laurel Highlands this year.