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In general I do not recommend trying to improve on nature beyond the boundaries
of the yard since the beauty of natural scenes is often incomparable. However
creation of a Pollinator Field from a portion of hay fields or pastures or even
yards can provide habitat for pollinators such as butterflies and bees, while
also providing enjoyment to the land owner . Such fields may be funded by USDA
(US Department of Agriculture) and NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation
Service). One method is to burn existing grass and weeds in late winter, then
the re-growth is killed with herbicides. In May, wildflowers and native warm
season grasses (NWSG) are planted with a no-till seed drill . The field
pictured was planted four years ago with 4 species of grasses and 16 kinds of
flowers. Some of these did not thrive, but others have done well and produce a
spectacle of flowers in early to mid-July as well as a lesser display during
May and later summer months.
The classic pollinators come to such flower meadows and just two examples are
the orange sulphur and female black tiger swallowtail butterflies. The adults
are likely mainly obtaining nectar there but the Sulphur caterpillars feed on
alfalfa which is present, whereas the tiger swallowtail caterpillars likely
feed on nearby black cherry and tulip trees. Bumblebees (on light lavender
bergamot in photo) forage extensively in the pollinator field on the abundant
wild bergamot and purple coneflowers. There are also honeybees (on purple cone
flower in photo) present which is not generally a good thing. Honeybees are
actually a non-native species from Europe, and as domesticated hives used to
pollinate crops or produce honey can be very valuable. But wild or feral hives
are in competition with native pollinators and are not desirable. In our
particular setting far from crops that require pollination, honeybees are less
abundant than the native bees and thus are not a major problem.
Some of the most interesting pollinators are insects such as the syrphid flies
( on yellow ox-eye sunflower in photo) which mimic yellow jackets and gain
protection from their predators. Other insects which utilize the field habitat
range from green camouflaged katydids, to dragonflies such as the widow
skimmer, to the fig or green June beetles. The katydid and June beetle are
herbivores whereas the dragonfly is a predator on flying insects. So quite a
community of creatures populate the pollinator field and provide a real oasis
of life.
So despite the fact that the planting of a pollinator field provides only an
ephemeral burst of flowers over a short period of years, it is a significant
source of food and cover for a wide variety of creatures and is a valuable tool
in maintaining biodiversity within the pasture/hayfield habitat.
Bill Dunson
Galax, VA and Englewood, FL
http://lemonbayconservancy.org/news-blog/nature-notes-by-bill-dunson/ ;
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Pollinator field 2012 VA farm 7.11.16 Bill Dunson IMG_.JPG bbb.jpg
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Orange sulphur pollinator field VA farm 7.10.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4773 aa.jpg
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Swallowtail female black tiger pollinator field VA farm 7.10.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4794 (3) cc.jpg
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Bumblebee on beebalm pollinator field VA farm 7.11.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4866 aa.jpg
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Honeybee on purple coneflower in pollinator field 2012 VA farm 7.10.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4769 aa.jpg
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Fly Syrphid yellow jacket mimic on heliopsis pollinator field VA farm 7.11.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4879 aa.jpg
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Katydid on heliopsis pollinator field VA farm 7.11.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4875 aa.jpg
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Widow skimmer male pollinator field VA farm 7.10.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4786 aa.jpg
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Fig beetle on blackberry VA farm 7.10.16 Bill Dunson IMG_4808 aa.jpg
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