April 17th, 2022 - Pollinators and Monarch Butterflies - inspired by a conversation with Pratima Saldanha

Over the years we have planned flowering perennials in our backyard and have enjoyed visits from monarch butterflies. But until Pratima Saldanha suggested the topic of these pollinators I did not know much about them. So this was a learning Sunday! The monarch butterfly is one of the most easily recognized butterflies, distinctive with its black and orange wings. The color pattern is recognized by potential predators as well, signaling that the insect may contain poison from the milkweed on which it feeds as a caterpillar. Little did I know that they are the only butterfly species that completes a two-way migration of more than 2000 miles from Canada to Mexico. As we approach Earth Day, monarchs will begin their return to the north. The first three generations of monarch butterflies live 6-8 weeks. Yet, the 4th generation-known as the “Super Generation” – lives for about 8-9 months, migrating south, overwintering in Mexico, and starting to fly the journey north in spring. I will have a new appreciation this spring and summer. 

 A monarch butterfly rests on a flower. © Kathy Lichtendahl

But monarch butterflies and their migration are now threatened by temperature changes, drought, pesticides, and other climate change impacts. The monarch butterfly population has dropped more than 80% across North America over the last two decades.

The impact of pollinators including bees, butterflies, moths, bats, beetles, and birds on the agricultural and food ecosystem is very important and relates again to many topics we have discussed in the last two weeks.  

  • Three out of four crops across the globe producing fruits or seeds for human use as food depend, at least in part, on pollinators.
  • Improving pollinator density and diversity boosts crop yields – pollinators affect 35 percent of global agricultural land, supporting the production of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide.
  • Pollinator-dependent food products contribute to healthy diets and nutrition.
By planting milkweed – the host plants for monarch caterpillars – and nectar plants for adult monarchs and other pollinators, we can help maintain the monarch migration and sustain the pollinators whose pollinating services maintain our ecosystems. Without milkweed throughout their spring and summer breeding areas in North America, monarchs would not be able to produce the successive generations that culminate in the migration each fall. Similarly, without nectar from flowers, these fall migratory monarch butterflies would be unable to make their long journey to overwintering grounds in Mexico. The need for host plants for larvae and energy sources for adults applies to all monarch and butterfly populations around the world.

I saw a resource from Barrington Area Conservation Trust that was quite interesting and inspiring. 


To offset the loss of milkweeds and nectar sources we can help by creating "Monarch Waystations" (monarch habitats) in home gardens, at schools, businesses, along roadsides, and on other unused plots of land. Monarchwatch.org also has resources on Milkweeds and Monarch Waystations. There are a few waystations to close to my home and I am going to try to visit this spring. This combined with home composting especially vermicomposting (this is great for the flowers) that Ravi has introduced us to now can keep us busy this spring and fall.

If any of you have any experience with monarch waystations or milkweeds I would love to hear and learn from you. Maybe we can jointly create or contribute to a monarch waystation. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April 30th, 2022 - Recap for Earth Month - Thank you

Image
What an incredible journey it has been for the last 30 days. This earth month challenge was inspired by the Save Soil campaign and discussions with Rathi and Deepak. We wanted to talk and learn about soil for 30 days. I thought it would be easy to choose 30 topics to write on when I took upon this challenge. Little did I know that keeping this effort would be challenging but I definitely learned a lot.  Thanks to all of you, I learned a lot about different topics that affect soil health. Starting with food waste and composting , The tips on vermicomposting , nutrient management , and recycling  from our avid gardener Ravi Rokkam were invaluable. I am sure Ravi is going to continue sharing his wisdom.  Deepak has been researching agricultural practices for the Save Soil program, and his insight on earthworms and soil health practices in Africa was thought-provoking and insightful.  I couldn't do justice to capture all of Rathi's suggestions! I learned a lot ...
Read more

April 27th, 2022 - History of the American Lawn

Image
In America, over 40 million acres of land are covered by lawn, or, more specifically, turfgrass. So why do we even have lawns in the first place? This fascinating  NY Times video documentary traces the history of the American Lawn.    This color-coded map shows satellite-derived estimates of the fractional turf grass (lawn) area across the United States in shades of green.   This was a result of a citizen science project via NASA and it is not updated anymore but you will get the picture. Grass is a plant, and through photosynthesis, it takes up carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere . So while lawns can function as “carbon sinks,” soaking up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, this benefit is often outweighed by the heavy carbon cost associated with the maintenance of these lawns. Rather than alleviating climate change, lawns may be contributing to it. The main culprits are lawn equipment, specifically gas-powered leaf blowers and lawnmowers, and syntheti...
Read more

April 1st, 2022 - Composting

Recently as we are exploring topics around climate change and sustainability at work, I have been exposed to a great resource via  Drawdown . Drawdown has several resources that you can use to learn about different solutions to address climate change. They also promote learning via challenges. Earth Month Eco-Challenge in April is going to introduce topics around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . Did you know the first UN SDG is to End Poverty in all its form everywhere ? Soil health has a direct link to ending poverty, especially in developing countries.  As we are talking about the Save Soil campaign at YICG and Project Now, I thought I would learn and post about 1 topic around soil every day as a part of a modified Earth Month Challenge. I am not good at keeping daily habits, so this is to make me somewhat accountable. No guarantees. Also, a disclaimer that I am not an expert on these topics. My goal is to learn by sharing a topic every day.  Today's...
Read more