Monarch caterpillar arrives

This past weekend we had a thoughtful and surprising gift dropped off at our house - a monarch caterpillar nearly ready to pupate, which neighbours could not keep as they were going on holiday.  We've watched caterpillars transform into butterflies here before (a black swallowtail last year), but were more than happy to host this monarch and watch it's process.  It ate milkweed for two days (you need to feed it fresh plants every day and clean out the frass, aka poo), then started to climb the stick we had left in the large jar, and today formed it's chrysalis.  Now we wait 7-10 days to see it hatch into a monach butterfly.  Good instructions for caring for various butterflies are here at Butterfly School

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Bug hotel

We've had this project on the list for a while now - building a "bug hotel".  In a way it's funny to create a bug "habitat" when really there is a wide array of insect habitat in the entire yard (pollinator-attracting plants, the pond, lots of old logs, tall grasses, compost pile, soil, brush piles, rocks, etc).  However, the bug hotel allows you to create one visual place that will attract a variety of beneficial insects for viewing in one location, and it's a great project to build with kids.  There are many beautiful design ideas out there for this kind of project - we suggest using materials you have on hand for the structure, and filling it with all manner of found natural objects (pinecones, bark, dried sticks, hollow sticks and plant stalks, old clay pots, burlap, rocks, clay bricks, logs with holes drilled in, etc).  You can include flowering pollen and nectar-rich plants, or locate the bug hotel near a flower or herb garden to help attract insects.  Then sit back and watch what will come.  Have your kids create a bug logbook to record what they discover.

Butterflies, ladybugs and bee hotels - attracting beneficial insects to your garden

This morning when we headed out to the backyard we were astonished by dozens and dozens of orange and black butterflies flitting around the yard - lifting out of the grass, resting on the flowering cherry tree, dipping near the pond, sunning themselves on warm patio stones..all day these colourful visitors (which we identified as Red Admirals using this great Ontario moths and butterflies guide) stayed around passing through on their migration back north.  On such a warm windy day it seemed fitting to have so many butterflies arriving, as if drifting in on the breeze and bringing warmer days with them.

We love spending time discovering the re-emerging insect life in the garden - our daughter spends hours turning over rocks and rotten logs to see what life will be discovered underneath - sow bugs, centipedes, spiders, ants, earth worms, slugs, snails - all are greeted with surprise and delight when she discovers them.  Life in and around the soil is wonderful.  Today she spent much of the morning with a ladybug which she eventually brought into our greenhouse to be sheltered from the wind (and help prevent aphids in the green house plants).

One of the garden goals for this spring is to work at attracting more benenficial insects to our yard.  Beneficial insects help to keep pest problems under control and keep your garden thriving.  Of course incorporating features like ponds, compost areas, and beneficial host plants, as well as using organic pesticide-free methods of gardening, are good ways to begin to attract beneficials.  Think about food, shelter and water as aspects that insects need.  Some herbs we use here include dill, fennel, angelica, queen anne's lace, coriander, dandelion, sunflowers, butterfly weed, tansy, etc to attract ladybugs, lacewings and other beneficial insects.  We are also inspired to build a "bee hotel" like this after seeing a great model at a friend's yard, and this beautiful idea for a "bug mansion" really caught our attention too.

These hardworking bees

For those of you in southern Ontario, you may have already noticed that there is an unusually low amount of local cherries available at farmers markets and stores this year.  In the spring, all the cherry trees bloomed beautifully, and around here we were excited to see the abundance of blooms crowding the trees in our neighbourhood and we dreamed about foraging for sweet and sour cherries.  However, we had such a long bout of heavy rain during the short cherry blossoming weeks that the bees were unable to pollinate, and now we are seeing that there are absolutely no cherries growing on any of these trees.  Once again, such a stark and clear example of the invaluable role of bees to our food system!  Luckily, the Niagara region seems to have some cherries, though expensive (understandably) this year, so we got our hands on a few precious quarts that were absolutely delicious. 

Anytime I see bees in our yard, seeking nectar among our flowers and herbs, I am joyful - and hopeful.  If you have any garden space at all, consider planting at least a few bee attracting plants (and let them go to flower).  Try to choose as many native plants as possible for your area - for example, bee balm, oregano, clover, lavender, sunflowers, sage, thyme, mints, catnip, fennel, tansy, hollyhocks, echinacea, roses, berries of all sorts, fruit trees, and also other trees such as hazel, alder, linden, magnolia, maples, poplar, willow.