A variety of plants will attract a variety of wildlife. It just depends on what kind of animals you're looking to lure into your backyard.

In general there are three categories of fruits that appeal to wildlife: mid- to late summer fruits, fall high quality fruits, and fall low quality fruits.

Ground animals such as fox, bears, raccoons, and mice seem to prefer the mid- to late summer fruits over the others. These fruits---including blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries, and mulberries---are high in sugar but low in fat.

Fall high quality fruits are just the opposite, being low in sugar and high in fat. These are preferred by most wildlife because they are higher in fat than the other categories. Fat provides twice the energy compared to sugar.

Approximately "75--90% of these fruits are gone by October 31 because wildlife, particularly migrant songbirds, like them," says Dave Anderson, an educator for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests at the John Hay Estate in Newbury, NH. Examples of these fruits are dogwood, magnolia, sassafras, and black gum.

Different from the fall high quality fruits, fall low quality fruits still have about 70% of their fruits remaining until January 1. These fruits are low in sugar and low in fat, so they're not as popular. Examples are sumac, poison ivy, bayberry, and juniper.

"Plants and animals have co-evolved a very beautiful relationship," says Anderson. Indeed they have.

Every year locals get confused by trees changing leaf color long before fall foliage season. This early leaf change known as "foliar fruit flag" is actually a signal to wildlife that their fruit is coming. Poison ivy, sumac, and dogwood, as well as other species, exhibit early leaf change.

If you're looking to bring more wildlife into your yard, give them fruit. Many state forest nurseries have native fruiting trees and shrubs available to residents in the spring. You don't have to plant, though. The first thing you should do is look around your property to see if any fruiting trees or shrubs are growing naturally. "The best thing to do for wildlife is to release your fruiting trees," advises Anderson.