Quercus

Smooth Beggarticks

Bidens laevis

Native to Kentucky (estimated)

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

20CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY

Genus host records with ranges including KY · Bidens

  • Cecropterus lyciadesHoary Edge
  • Cecropterus pyladesNorthern Cloudywing
  • Cirrhophanus trianguliferGoldenrod Stowaway, Beggarticks Seedcropper
  • Condica confederataThe Confederate
  • Condica mobilisMobile Groundling
  • Dichomeris juncidellaOrange-Dotted Dichomeris
  • Epiblema abruptanaAbrupt Epiblema
  • Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
  • Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
  • Homoeosoma electellaSunflower Moth
Show all 20
  • Nathalis ioleDainty Sulphur, Dwarf Yellow
  • Palthis asopialisFaint-Spotted Palthis
  • Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
  • Pyrausta tyralisCoffee-Loving Pyrausta
  • Pyrrhia exprimensPurple-Lined Sallow, Purple-Lined Sun Moth
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • Synchlora frondariaSouthern Emerald
  • Urbanus proteusLong-Tailed Skipper, Bean Leaf Roller
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
76BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Bidens

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
8Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Bidens

  • Andrena aliciae
  • Andrena chromotricha
  • Dianthidium curvatum
  • Dieunomia heteropoda
  • Megachile inimica
  • Megachile parallela
  • Megachile xylocopoides
  • Melissodes denticulatus
Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
10BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Bidens

  • Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
  • Aix sponsaWood Duck
  • Anas platyrhynchosMallard
  • Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
  • Colinus virginianusNorthern Bobwhite
  • Dendrocygna bicolorFulvous Whistling-Duck
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Porzana carolinaSora
  • Rallus limicolaVirginia Rail
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
Beetles 1
  • Diabrotica 12-punctata

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Flies 6
  • Anthrax halcyon
  • Archytas aterrima
  • Hydrophoria ambigua
  • Scepsis fulvicollis
  • Siphoplagia anomala
  • Systoechus vulgaris

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Adult butterflies / moths 9
  • Anosia plexippus
  • Feltia subgothica
  • Heliothis armiger
  • Heliothis dipsaceus
  • Hylephila phylaeus
  • Phyciodes tharos
  • Plusia simplex
  • Vanessa atalanta
  • Vanessa huntera

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

Other wasps 4
  • Eumenes fraternus
  • Exetastes suaveolens
  • Polistes annularis
  • Polistes pallipes

Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA

No records yet · Ants · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Asteraceae
Hardiness
Zones 6b–11b
Soil pH
Acidic to neutral
Flower color
Brown/copper or yellow
Growth rate
Rapid
Growth habit
Single crown
Foliage color
Green
Fruit begins
Summer
Fruit ends
Fall

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Bloom · “Late summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Flower color · “Brown/copper or yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth habit · “Single crown” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Growth rate · “Rapid” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Hardiness · “Zones 6b–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Height · “About 3.3 feet” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
  • Leaves · “Deciduous” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
  • Soil pH · “Acidic to neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as

Smooth Beggar Ticks

Conservation status

Kentucky rankS5?
Global rankG5
KY statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

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