Gardening with native plants is a rewarding way to support local wildlife, especially our beloved butterflies and moths. Many native North American trees serve as essential host plants, providing food and habitat for caterpillars, which later transform into the stunning winged adults we admire. Integrating these trees into your wildlife garden not only enhances its ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalI've always had coreopsis in my yard, that is, until my plants were wiped out by coreopsis beetles a few years ago. I didn't plant any last year, and I hoped without any food during a harsh year for plants and insects, maybe the beetles would die off. So I planted some again this year, ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalWe all love butterflies, and this is the time of the year to plan a garden just for them. It’s always good to incorporate flowers into the landscape, even into a vegetable garden. But it’s even more enjoyable to create a special butterfly garden to sit and watch these delightful insects. Who are our common ...
Read More | Pest PatrolIn the past two weeks, I've caught two female giant swallowtails laying eggs on my rue, one of their host plants. It's so exciting to see this aptly named butterfly fluttering around my yard... so big and beautiful! It is worth planting rue just to attract them. This year, I decided to keep my two ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalOn March 5th, 2018, the Mexican government released their annual report on wintering monarch butterflies. Every year, thousands of monarchs migrate to a small area of protected fir forests near Mexico City. While some years are better than others, the overall trend since the late 1990s has been downward in butterfly numbers. Unfortunately, however, this ...
Read More | Wildlife Gardening JournalYou might be surprised by some of the plants that serve as host plants for swallowtails. My previous house had a huge, mature lilac in the front yard. Every year in early spring, Eastern tiger swallowtails visited it. Swallowtails are the superstars of butterfly world: Huge, strikingly colored, they always lift my spirits when I ...
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