2 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
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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 floydville at 04/06/2019 at 16:52 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Yes, very thankful that ladybugs are predators for more than just aphids given my current set of garden pests. However, I've had zero signs of Monarchs in 3 years unfortunately, so I don't think the ladybugs are hurting that chance as I work to build up my native plants to help attract. I also check daily for signs of them, and would protect any eggs, larvae or caterpillars I see.
I also understand that the bees being kept aren't native, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to give them food too? It seems my desire to make a bee buffet joke has made it seem I haven't done any reading about bees. They aren't my bees, so I'm not actively promoting them over other native bees, but they will certainly still pollinate the garden so I'm happy to have them stop by. I'm working on adding more insect homes that encourage different species, but can't do much about what already lives in the neighborhood.
Comment by UntakenUsername48753 at 05/06/2019 at 13:08 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Here's a great article on the topic: https://www.wired.com/2015/04/youre-worrying-wrong-bees/
That was an interesting read, and maybe I'm just a dope, but I didn't quite follow the takeaway as it applies to homeowners. I don't spray pesticides on crops, so I don't have to rethink that. To help the right kind of bees, I need to have an undisturbed patch of dirt for them to burrow in?