A wise pelican, the EvergladesApostle Islands National LakeshoreIn the Everglades
Happy 100th Birthday to Our National Parks! Many of us have vivid memories of visits to our national parks. Our parks are for the common good of all, and are an important function of government. National parks represent The United States in history, culture, diversity, beauty and lots of fun! As citizens we need to make sure they are funded and cared for. Always be leery of politicians who are going to cut your taxes. That money is often from programs that are for the good of everyone, like parks. Only Congress can create national parks. Tell your congressman how important they are and to please fund them.
I love this article by Jillian Mackenzie “Europe has cathedrals. We have national parks,” said Stephen Saunders, neatly capturing the significance of these 59 national treasures, which include important monuments as well as parklands. But as we honor their majesty we must also recognize and address the biggest threats to our natural versions of Notre Dame. Read the entire article.
So what are you waiting for? Grab your walking shoes, a reusable water bottle, sun screen and visit a park near you. Happy Birthday, National Parks!
“Today, Minnesota set the strongest rules in the nation to protect pollinators from pesticides,” said Lex Horan of Pesticide Action Network. “The plan will help ensure that bee-harming pesticides won’t be used unnecessarily, and it lays the groundwork for reducing the use of neonicotinoid seed coatings. This decision is rooted in the resounding scientific evidence that neonicotinoids are harmful to pollinators. It’s past time for state and federal decisionmakers to take action to restrict the use of bee-harming pesticides, and today Minnesota did just that.” Read the whole story here. Another story from Minnesota Public Radio.
Get in the habit of bringing your own bags shopping.
I do the majority of my grocery shopping at food coops, but when I visit regular grocery stores I am appalled by the number of plastic bags leaving with purchases. I know most them aren’t recycled. My city will put fees on some plastic bags in 2017, and I can’t wait!! It will be a fabulous education tool for many people!!
Below is from Earth911.com, and contains some information I didn’t know, how the below businesses have reduced plastic bags. Please shop retailers that protect our earth. I haven’t shopped at all these retailers so please let me know if this information is accurate???
From Earth911.com: “Did you know that studies have shown that about 12 million metric tons of plastic debris, including plastic bags, has accumulated in our oceans around the world? Due to this pollution, more than 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic entanglement! That is a startling number – and one that doesn’t show any signs of slowing its growth.” Read the entire article here.
These are the retailers to patronize!
Adidas
Ikea
COSCO, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s
Whole Foods
Local Coops Earth 911 gives a shout out to New Pioneer in Iowa City. I shopped there while traveling this summer and recommend shopping there if you are in Iowa City or traveling along Interstate 80 through Iowa.
My back yard: Cone flowers, flox, and butterfly weed
This past week my yard was part of a “Pollinator Garden Walk” led by my neighbor, a pollinator expert. We walked, biked, or carpooled to 4 neighborhood yards. All the yards had boulevard plantings, two had no turf grass,, and three yards had rain gardens. We observed lots of bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, and caterpillars. Below are the ideas to attract pollinators suggested by the pollinator expert:
* Choose native and single-flowered plant varieties
* Go organic, eliminate pesticide and herbicides
* Leave areas of bare ground or loose leaf litter
* Plant milkweed
*Install a bee nesting house for mason bees and other stem-nesting bees
Cardinal flowers are happy this year with lots of rain!
I would add: Plant with diversity of flowers, bloom times, and colors.
Never use plants treated with neonicotinoids! Ask before purchase of plants.
The stickers on avocados say where they are grown. Say “No” to Mexican avocados!
I embarrassed to admit I have Mexican avocados in my refrigerator. NEVER again. According to this article monarch wintering forests are being removed to grow avocados.
Education is a good thing, and new information arrives daily. Please take this new information seriously and purchase avocados from California. Read the little sticker on the avocado to find out where they are grown. Yes, you might have to pay higher prices, but this is important to help save the monarch butterfly!
Also, inform the produce people at your local grocery that you will purchase only avocados from butterfly safe areas, which Mexico is not.
Smart consumerism may help the monarch!
Please comment with any new information you learn on monarch wintering grounds and other products we shouldn’t purchase??
An update to this post. First, I have been able to purchase avocados raised in California this past week. Second, this link about the monarch winter grounds is more hopeful. I hope you will choose only California grown avocados until we know the monarch winter grounds are safe! Thank you.
Look carefully and you might see a new butterfly. It has been exciting to have eggs and monarch caterpillars on my swamp milkweed, and painted lady caterpillars on pearly everlasting plants.
Eyed-Brown
In the past month I have been able to identify some new north land caterpillars and butterflies. Enjoy these pictures, but it is better to see the real thing rather than a picture! Get outside and observe!
Monarch CaterpillarsPainted Lady eggs and caterpillars on the pearly everlastingTwo Atlantis Fritillary on bee balmGrey Comma, a dull name for a butterfly beautyCommon Wood-nymph(wikepedia)
The luna moth grows to a wingspan of four and a half inches.
Credit: David Moskowitz
What do you know about moths? They are not the “Ick” insect you might of thought of as a child. Because most, not all, are nocturnal we might not experience them except caught in a window or spider web. The best ones I have seen are in the bathrooms of campgrounds, and they are magnificent! This is National Moth Week, so what better time to get out and see if you can find and observe a moth. This information is from http://www.livescience.com/
Seven facts about moths:
1.There are more than 11,000 species of moths in the U.S. alone.
Moths outnumber butterflies, their nearest relative, by more than 10 to 1, said Matthew Shepherd, communications director and senior conservation associate at the Xerces Society, a nonprofit organization focused on insect conservation in Portland, Ore. There are upward of 11,000 moth species in the United States alone — that’s more than all the bird and mammal species in North America combined.
A moth the size of a pencil tip.
Credit: David Moskowitz
2. Moths make great mimics.
Moths are notorious for their ability to camouflage to keep from being eaten.
3. Moths are important pollinators.
4. Many adult moths don’t eat.
While some moths suck nectar, others don’t eat at all. The adult Luna moth, for instance, doesn’t even have a mouth. After it emerges from its cocoon, it lives for about a week. Its sole mission in life? To mate and lay eggs
The luna moth grows to a wingspan of four and a half inches.
Credit: David Moskowitz
5. A male moth can smell a female more than 7 miles away.
Though they lack noses, moths are expert sniffers. They detect odor molecules using their antennae instead of through nostrils. Male giant silkworm moths have elaborate, feather-shaped antennae with hairlike scent receptors that allow them to detect a single molecule of a female moth’s sex hormone from 7 miles (11 kilometers) away.
6. They are important food for many animals.
Because of their abundance, moths are major players at the bottom of the food chain.
7. Moths: The next superfood?
In some places in the world they eat moth caterpillars. They are high in fat and protein.
“Whatever befalls the earth, befalls the people of the earth.” Chief Seattle
If Everyone Does a Little It Can Add up to A Lot!
Fritillary on bee balm
Have you noticed how few butterflies are flittering around this summer? Researchers find that butterfly species throughout the world are disappearing because of pollution, pesticides, and habitat loss. A newly released study says many butterflies are vanishing.
The author suggests we remove some of our lawn, and plant more flowers. Yes, we should plant more flowers, but beside planting more flowers we need to reduce the use of the chemicals we put on our lawns, in our gardens and on our agricultural fields.
Reducing chemicals and planting host plants for butterflies can make a big difference. Many of us are actively working on planting milkweed for monarchs, but there are many other butterfly species. Besides milkweed I have pearly everlasting for the American painted lady, turtlehead for the checkerspot butterfly, and golden Alexander for the black swallow-tail. Violets are great for the fritillary butterflies. This is one of the best charts I have seen on plants for butterflies from Bringing Nature Home And some ideas from the University of Minnesota for plants that are favored for butterflies an moths. Please let me know what your best plants for butterflies are?
No chemicals needed!Plant for the monarch butterfly
Today my yard is teaming with pollinators. The bees are in abundance, house finch and hummingbirds are loving the fresh blooming plants, and I am thrilled. Butterflies have been slow to appear, but today I had a giant swallowtail, several red admirals, a painted lady, and a monarch!
The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly. Photo credit: Brian Gratwicke
An American ladySwamp milkweed ready for monarch butterflies
Bee balm, cone flowers, and milkweed will bring butterflies, bees and butterflies.
Have you looked carefully at a butterfly? They are some of the most beautiful living species on our planet. The past few years I have loved learning about butterflies. Butterflies often sit so we can see them, and many binoculars make it possible to examine them closely.
Be sure to get outside this summer and look around for butterflies and other wildlife in your backyard. If you see a but aren’t sure about the species, you can consult this handy identification guide. This is from http://ecowatch.com
Here are 10 fascinating facts to consider next time you cross a butterfly’s path:
1. There are more than 17,500 recorded butterfly species around the world, 750 of which can be found in the U.S.
2. Butterflies and moths are part of the class of insects in the order Lepidoptera. Butterflies are flying insects with large scaly wings. Like all insects, they have six jointed legs and three body parts: the head, the thorax and the abdomen. The wings are attached to the thorax and they also have a pair of antennae, compound eyes and an exoskeleton.
3. The Cabbage White, is the most common butterfly in the U.S. Although it appears mostly white with black markings on the top of its wings, underneath those wings are yellowish-green. These butterflies have a wing spread of just about two inches. Males have only one spot on each wing, while females have two. As you probably know, you can find Cabbage Whites in most open spaces, including gardens, roadsides, parks and cities.
4. Monarch butterflies migrate to get away from the cold. However, they are the only insect that migrates an average of 2,500 miles to find a warmer climate. The iconic North
Monarch Butterfly
American Monarch has been greatly affected by extreme weather events, going through drastic dips and spikes in numbers over the past several decades. The overall pattern continues to point downward, with a 95 percent population decline over the last 20 years, but conservation efforts are helping: There were more monarch butterflies migrating in 2015 than there were in 2014.
5. Monarchs are not the only butterfly that migrate. The Painted Lady, American Lady, Red Admiral, Cloudless Sulphur, Skipper, Sachem, Question Mark, Clouded Skipper, Fiery Skipper and Mourning Cloak are among the other butterflies that also migrate, but not as far as the Monarchs.
6. The Common Buckeye Butterflyis one of the most striking butterflies, with its bold multicolored eyespots and thick upper-wing bars, all designed to frighten away any birds that might be tempted to chomp on them. If you look under its wings, you’ll find a more abstract profusion of brown, orange and beige. These insects are pretty common all over North and Central America, although you won’t find them in the Pacific Northwest or in the far north of Canada.
The Common Buckeye Butterfly. Photo credit: Thinkstock
10. The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly, as its name implies, is one of the biggest butterflies, with a wing spread of four to seven inches. The female is once again bigger than the male. It too is found throughout North America and sometimes as far south as South America. These butterflies are called “swallow” because they have long tails on their hind wings that resemble the long, pointed tails of the birds known as swallows.
The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly. Photo credit: Brian Gratwicke
Health4earth 