Beneficial Insects

A lovely monarch caterpillar. It's been years since I've seen a monarch butterfly in my yard so this discovery was an unexpected treat. Each evening during my late summer walk around town I use to look for monarch caterpillars to bring into my classroom. I walked past a large patch of milkweed, the monarch's host plant (plant that female monarchs lay their eggs on) and their favorite food, and checked it for caterpillars. Each year it was the same, nothing. Not one caterpillar. I finally gave up. My middle school students would look too. Nothing. Obviously I wasn't the only one who hadn't seen one in a while. There was a brutal snowfall and freeze in their Mexican winter habitat a few years ago and that had a devastating effect on the monarch population. So I decided to sprinkle milkweed seed (the plant in the foreground in the picture below)along the edges of my yard hoping to lure them. It took a few years but finally the plants grew. And they even sprouted up in my garden which wasn't great as they have an underground root system that spreads. But this one plant which is in front of the Echinacea I decided to let stay and I'm glad I did (even if the caterpillar in the photo above was on a dill plant).

While monarchs may not be considered your typical "beneficial" garden insects in that they don't eat insects that damage our plants, they are beneficial to the overall environment and thus our gardens. Many insects are helpful because they go from flower to flower bringing pollen from one to the other. That makes them pretty beneficial to me. This is the basis of pollination and many garden plants require such pollination in order for their fruits and veggies to grow. Squashes are one example of a plant with an absolute need for such cross pollination. So any insect or bird we can attract to our gardens will help with making the garden stronger and more productive. Not only are butterflies helpful to our gardens they are just lovely, a visually appealing addition. By planting flowers that attract butterflies and bees we are encouraging such beneficial insects to visit and do their work. Shown in the picture below is a Butterfly Bush which is not only beautiful but it has a fragrance that can't be beat. This particular plant is enjoying a visit by a lovely little butterfly. I wish I could remember the name of it. But as Rachel Carson once said, "It's not half as important to know as it is to feel." I find that true now with this pretty little butterfly. It's just pretty to look at and nice to enjoy. Nectar providing plants like this Butterfly Bush are so important to include in your garden especially once you've set up a habitat which lures butterflies to your garden. By including such nectar providing flowers you provide the food, aka nectar, that they will love to drink. Over the years I've planted flowers, perennials and annuals, with the goal of luring butterflies, bees, and birds (not crows!) such as hummingbirds to my garden and this year it seems that the plants have matured to the point of working. Honey bees, native bees, bumblebees, butterflies, moths, many types of birds are always flitting from flower to flower. And I must say that it's rather nice. So consider including flowers in your veggie garden. They will make your garden look pretty and inviting as well as provide the needed diversity to lure beneficial insects.

Enjoy these glorious late summer days and plan for some butterfly plants in your next year's garden, Mary PS - A list of butterflies and preferred host plants can be found here: http://www.thebutterflysite.com/create-butterfly-garden.shtml List of nectar plants: http://www.thebutterflysite.com/butterfly-food.shtml