Posts tagged ‘Butterfly Habitat Garden’
Gardens are not only places for flowers, trees, and vegetation to grow. Insects such as ladybugs, bees, and butterflies, have an important role in our garden as well. These pollinators propagate flowers and vegetables to keep our gardens flourishing. They are so important to the survival of plants that gardeners have been known to create “homes” for these critters. Bees and wasps use insect houses to keep prey for eggs that have been deposited, while butterflies and ladybugs use them as a place to hibernate.
The Archives of American Gardens includes terrific images of insect homes. The style and size of insect houses vary just like the houses in which we live. The design of a house depends on the type of bug a gardener may want in his or her garden. For example, the size of the nesting holes drilled into the walls of an insect house influence the type of bug likely to dwell inside. The butterfly houses shown here were constructed in an elongated shape with vertical slits running up and down the sides. Butterflies must fold up their delicate delicate wings in order to fit into these narrow openings. Once inside the insect house provides the butterflies with excellent protection from wind, weather, and predators.
It is immediately apparent how the holes in this bee house vary greatly from those used by butterflies. Round holes provide bees easy entrance to the house. Unlike bee hives, bee houses are meant to attract solitary bees, such as the Mason Bee (Osmia rufa). This explains why there are multiple holes created in the house rather than one large opening like a bee hive would have.
To learn more about pollinators, attend the upcoming Pollination Party at the Smithsonian Gardens Butterfly Habitat Garden on Tuesday, June 16. The Pollinator Party will highlight the Pollinator Partnership’s mission to promote the health of pollinators–which are critical to food and ecosystems–through conservation, education, and research. Click here for more information about Smithsonian Gardens’ Pollinator Party.
– Melinda Allen, Archives of American Gardens intern
Did you know that this week is National Pollinator Week? Every year organizations devoted to conservation celebrate pollinators and address the urgent issue of declining pollinator and plant populations. Pollination is the process of moving pollen within flowers or from flower to flower, allowing the plants to fertilize and reproduce. This movement can be done by wind, water, or a variety of animals, known as pollinators. Animal pollinators assist about 90% of all flowering plants in their pollination needs.
This year’s focus is on native orchids, which depend on a variety of animals for pollination. What is particularly interesting about the relationships between orchids and their pollinators is that while many insects and animals may visit orchid flowers, each orchid species often has a “preferred” pollinator. Unfortunately, if pollinator populations continue to decline, many species of orchids could be at risk.
This is true too for many of our own food sources, including coffee, bananas, and a variety of tree nuts. These plants are truly dependent on their pollinators and in turn, so are we. According to pollinator.org, “worldwide, approximately 1,000 plants grown for food, beverages, fibers, spices, and medicines need to be pollinated by animals in order to produce the goods on which we depend. In the United States, pollination by honeybees and other insects produces $40 billion worth of products annually.” However, the loss of habitat, chemical misuse, invasive plant and animal species, and various diseases have severely affected pollinator species around the world. Unfortunately, the true scope of damage and the status of pollinators is still unknown, which is why it is so important to work to conserve pollinator species, even the seemingly non-desirable insects, such as flies.
When we think of pollinators, we typically think of the glamorous ones: bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. However, many plants are pollinated by other animals and insects such as bats, beetles, moths, and even flies; each one has its own distinct attraction to flowers. For example, bees, birds, and butterflies prefer brightly colored flowers, while flies and moths prefer pale or dark colored plants. A diverse selection of native plants in your garden can help to support pollinator populations in your area and maintain botanical biodiversity. Pollinator.org has handy regional guides on what plants are native to your area and attractive to the different pollinators in your eco-system.
So what can we do to protect and encourage pollinator communities? In the Butterfly Habitat Garden, Smithsonian Gardens has committed to planting pollinator-attracting plants free of chemical-based pesticides. In all of our gardens too, an Integrated Pest Management approach is used, meaning that we monitor insect behavior and can then attempt to control insect populations rather than eradicate them. This method can better allow for pollinators to do their jobs, as they are not exterminated by chemical-based pesticides.
Even if you cannot devote a whole habitat to pollinating critters, you can provide a refuge or food source with even one plant. James Gagliardi, horticulturist in the Butterfly Habitat Garden provided a list of some of his favorite plants in the garden that are frequently visited by pollinators:
Hummingbird Mint (Agastache spp)
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
Bee Balm (Monarda spp)
Mountain Mint (Pycnanthemum muticum)
Salvia (Salvia spp)
Pincushion Flower (Scabiosa spp)
Goldenrod (Solidago spp)
Verbena (Verbena spp, especially Verbena bonariensis)
Lantana (Lantana camara)
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis)
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica)
–Elizabeth Chenevey, Smithsonian Gardens Education & Outreach Intern
Plants aren’t the only thing growing at Smithsonian Gardens. We have expanded our Garden Interpreter program to include the Butterfly Habitat Garden adjacent to the National Museum of Natural History. Our garden interpreter volunteers can be found in the garden facilitating fun activities that help teach our visitors about the unique aspects and design of the Butterfly Habitat Garden.
The garden was designed to support the different stages of the life cycle of the butterfly. Our garden interpreter activities reflect this emphasis. Visitors can learn about the butterfly’s life cycle and explore how the garden supports and sustains it. They can also delve into the differences between host and nectar plants and why each type of plant is essential to creating the ideal habitat for native butterflies.
The garden interpreters give our visitors the opportunity not only to enjoy the beauty of the Butterfly Habitat Garden, but to get a sneak peek into the science behind its design. They peel away some of the layers of the spaces and allow visitors to explore in a whole new way.
Join our garden interpreters and become a lepidopterist (scientist who studies butterflies and moths) too!
Bridget Sullivan, Education Intern