In Part I of Helping Pollinators Overwinter, I concluded by saying the dormancy of pollinators varies a lot. They are dormant in different ways and in different stages. The location of nests and shelters are also varied. This means as we garden in fall and winter that we need to give care to ground disturbances,…
Category: Creatures
Helping Pollinators Overwinter (Part I)
Ensuring our landscapes have host plants, nectar, and other aspects of native habitat during growing seasons is very important for biodiversity. The increased awareness of this is making a positive impact on how people garden. Unfortunately, this progress can be undermined if we do not also help insects and other creatures survive fall and winter….
Caterpillars and Moths at Night
One night this week I set up the sheet and lights for mothing. I also went looking for caterpillars at night with the aid of a blacklight flashlight. Erin, our adult daughter, came over and joined me. She confessed that she only planned on staying 30 minutes but she got caught up in the treasure…
Deception in the Garden
If necessity is the mother of invention, then the need to survive takes creativity to new heights. That creativity can result in amazing ways to hide from predators or help predators sneak up on prey. Either way, deception is the name of the game in the garden. Well, actually mimicry may be the name of…
Welcome, Monarch Butterflies!
Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) attract monarchs to the garden because they are the host plants for the caterpillars. Females lay eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves, which appear as very small white dots. The caterpillars evolved with milkweeds and are adapted to eat the foliage, which is distasteful and toxic to many other insects. Once…
First Night of Mothing!
Last Saturday night (July 22nd), we finally set up to attract and observe moths at night. We were pretty inspired by our experiences at Mothapalooza in 2022. It is a two-day event hosted by the Arc of Appalachia with speakers, field trips, and moth observations at several sites in the evening. The observation set ups…
Catchfly Commons 