Can’t Wait for June?
by Monika Smith
By now, many gardeners in Glendale are ready to plant the seedlings started outdoors and have been checking out the offerings of garden centres and big box stores. Very soon, I’ll be picking up my native plants in plug form, with placement figured out.
Pollinators have been awake and hungry since the higher daytime temperatures and frost-free nights. Those aspens and poplar catkins are nectar, and the pollen is whisked around the trees producing seeds. Aspens rely more on their cloning ability, but developing seeds is another means of ensuring survival. If you have a dandelion or two, the bees are going for it. Once your yard is lit up with flowers, everything that needs nectar is on the hunt.
If you’re interested in growing plants that produce nectar, you will have populations of bees and other insects, butterflies, and moths to tempt them. Growers and researchers are paying more attention to creating pollinator-friendly plants. While big floofy flowers are our go-to plants—who doesn’t like a big colour show?—some growers are dialing back the thick, double and triple-decker layers and reviving “old school” plants so that pollinators can actually get into the flowers and feast. It’s worth a look as to what plants are needed to attract the pollinators you want in your yard.
While we love butterflies, what about moths? They are incredibly good pollinators and play an important role in the long-distance transfer of pollen among plants.
Some of the native moths are spectacular. Leave leaf and plant litter for them to thrive and survive. However, both need host plants on which the eggs are laid that the caterpillars feed on and nectar plants, which are the primary plants for the adults—moths and butterflies—to feast on.
The two basic differences between moths and butterflies are in the wings and antennae. Moths have straight or feathered antennae, and their wings lay flat and to the side when they are at rest. Butterflies have clubbed antennae and hold their wings upright while at rest.
Check out the hummingbird clearwing moth (hemaris thysbe), sometimes mistaken for a hummingbird (4.5 to 6.2 cm) as it can hover in front of flowers like the bird. Preferred flowers include purple vetch, dandelion, lilac, and honeysuckle. This is a daytime moth, but many are nocturnal, for example, the polyphemus moth (antheraea polyphemus), one of Alberta’s largest, with wingspans up to 10 to 15 cm! They are found throughout Alberta in wooded areas: adults are seen in June and caterpillars appear in July, which will chow down on white birch, red osier dogwood, willow, trembling aspen, pin cherry, hawthorn, choke cherry, and serviceberry. This huge nocturnal moth and other native species gather pollen and nectar by moonlight. For nocturnal moths, keep the yard as dark as possible, as they don’t do well in artificial light.
Always remember: if you love butterflies, you should love moths. But, in all cases, you’ll have to love the kids! And let them chow down on leaves.
There is good advice through the Water Smart initiatives on The City of Calgary website and a selection of plants that should do well.
If you wish to add native plants or are knowledgeable about biodiversity and would like to help our community association’s native perennial garden grow, please contact me. You are welcome to give a talk on Glendale’s natural world. Contact me about topics.
Until next time,
Monika’s Grove
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