4 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: Welcome new members!
Hello, fairly new here as well! Posted recently about releasing ladybugs into my garden and felt the community was very welcoming. I've mostly tended towards herbs and veggies but this year have made a concerted effort to add more natives and pollinators into the mix. Right now I've got milkweed, salvias, marigolds, mustards, bee balm, lemon verbena, lavender, nasturtiums, sweet peas, alliums, lilies, violas, and sunflowers growing for our flying friends. We have several fruit trees and put out a bird feeder and bath that gets frequented mostly by a pair of scrub jays and a few fat squirrels. My current goal is attracting Monarch butterflies. I also recently learned my neighbor a few houses down keeps bees so I am determined to give them a good buffet!
Nice to meet you all, thanks for reading ☺️
Comment by gymell at 04/06/2019 at 13:25 UTC
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Your intentions are good but a few things should be clarified. Since you have more of a vegetable gardening background, it's important to understand the differences between that and gardening for wildlife. The main one being a change of mindset from doing what benefits our species, to what benefits other species.
One is that ladybugs that you released are predators that will not only feed on aphids, but also monarch eggs and larvae.
The other thing is that the bees that your neighbors are keeping aren't native, honeybees are domesticated agricultural animals in no danger of extinction. Think of them like chickens. So you really don't need to do anything to help them. What do need help are the thousands of species of native wild bees that are in decline due to habitat loss, pesticides, and competition from the aforementioned honeybees. Here's a great article on the topic: https://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/[1][2]
1: https://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/
2: https://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/
Comment by SolariaHues at 04/06/2019 at 12:23 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Welcome :)
That's excellent! If you need any advice regarding monarchs feel free to post, or perhaps u/gymell can point you in the right direction.