Add plant diversity to your gardens. Also make sure you have flowering plants year-round. Those are key recommendations of ecologists for enlisting natural predators to combat pests in our garden and orchards. These tips can even help ward off pests such as the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), which …
Wildlife Aplenty on an Hour Walk at Wildwood Canyon State Park
A rattlesnake, numerous species of butterflies, cliff swallows bathing....... I'm so glad I went, even though I had only an hour for a quick walk while my husband was at an art class. I chose Wildwood Canyon State Park in Yucaipa CA, which I wrote about in this March hike to Hunt Ranch. Great …
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Butterfly Update! Including Monarchs from our Yard and Mexico butterfly photos
Here in Southern California in January, despite some temps dipping into the 20s, I'm still seeing monarch butterflies in our yard, helped by some of our milkweed that manages to stay alive. I posted an article in October about how our tropical milkweed finally attracted monarch caterpillars. I'm …
“Good” Weeds for Butterflies and More on our Native Pollinators
This is a follow-up to my post on Attracting Butterflies and Pollinators to our Yards - more takeaways from San Diego area speakers Moe Magoski and Michael Klein, plus photos of pollinators, important butterfly plants we might consider weeds, and some resources. First, Klein shared stats about …
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Attracting Pollinators and Butterflies to our Yards
Who doesn’t want more butterflies in their yards? You need nectar plants of course. But if you want to watch all the butterfly stages -- which means your plant’s leaves will get eaten by the growing caterpillars -- you need to include specific host plants, such as milkweed for monarchs, or thistle …
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Milkweed and Monarchs – Finally!
Note: See comments below for discussion on native vs tropical milkweeds We planted a couple milkweed (Asclepius curassavica or tropical) plants three years ago. But - no monarchs or caterpillars. The last six months the milkweed thrived and climbed seven feet up into our magnolia tree, and also …