I understand that it may sound strange for people who live in the country to worry themselves about attracting insects to their property, but that's exactly what I have been working on since yesterday afternoon. I suppose these sorts of things happen to people like me who have extra stuff lying around and a laundry list of must do projects that we aren't particularly interested in doing.
The trouble with putting out the welcome mat for insects is that insects are bound to accept that invitation! Another problem of course is that once you stop pumping out the insecticides, the unsavory types that you have no intention of embracing are bound to come knocking- like spiders for instance. I know what you are thinking, spiders are beneficial insects with their eight eyes, hairy legs and chelicerae. Yes, I know that they are beneficial on one level; but that doesn't mean I'm going to name them and give them a key to my house! Some of them do jump you know.
As Kermit the frog was known for saying, "It's not easy being green." Let's say that we forget about all of that spider stuff and instead focus on butterflies. Who doesn't have room for more butterflies in their gardens? Many of my readers have assuredly heard about the importance of pollinators. The USDA states, "...three-fourths of the world's flowering plants and about 35% of the worlds food crops depend on animal pollinators to reproduce."* The United Nations reports, "Without pollinators, many of us would no longer be able to enjoy coffee, chocolate..." Furthermore, "Between US$235 billion and US$577 billion worth of annual global food production relies on direct contributions by pollinators."** Honestly, they had me at coffee; but I do recommend that you read this short UN report.
Pollinator Partnership is my favorite site when it comes to learning about pollinators, their benefits, their needs and the issues surrounding them. This group of scientists and research partners, explain that pollinators are; birds, bats, bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and other small mammals of which many of their populations are in decline due to, "loss in feeding and nesting habitats, pollution, misuse of chemicals, disease, and changes in climatic patterns...*** That certainly seems to be a rather long list for someone who is committed to avoiding work.
My sister Claire gave to me a butterfly play station of sorts last winter and that seemed to be about the correct level of investment for someone on a spring break complete with snow flurries. The card included claims like: butterflies play in the mud, adding a pinch of salt and some sand provides them with minerals and salt. The last step is to pour water "all over" it. Okay, I did that part wrong, but since it's freezing outside I can fix that later.
The card also instructs me to "place it in a sunny location among your flowers where butterflies can sunbathe." I installed my bug spa next to our currently dormant native flower garden. Seeing that we had food and fun available, I began to consider building my pollinator friends a condominium that was carefully designed for a particular clientele. So I did what any motivated person would, I waited for social media to deliver to me the plans while I sat in my jammies sipping organic coffee.
I'm not an artist (not even close), but I figure that bugs aren't going to be awfully concerned over the decor. I chose my wood pieces from Wayne's scrap lumber collection and my roof is actually the heat shield that fell off of my Jeep (sacrifices must be made), I discovered that I don't exactly know how to build a perfect square after I had the nails pounded in. The hardest part of this job was finding enough material to fill the box, so eight inch sides were probably excessive. I filled the box with blackberry canes, elderberry stalks, forsythia branches, wildflower stems of which goldenrod worked best, bamboo garden stakes, a maple limb, chair rail and some corner molding.
It was after I mounted it that I realized that I maybe shouldn't have located it on the same wall as a bird house that is typically occupied by wrens. Happy Earth Day Vernon, and remember, if you aren't ready to take on the big challenges just yet, there are still plenty of smaller ones to tackle. Every small committed action moves us closer to restoring our pollinator populations. - Norma Manning
*USDA, Insects and Pollinators
**United Nations, Pollinators Vital to Our Food Supply Under Threat
Bug Hotel, How to Make a Home for Beneficial Insects
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