Be on the Lookout for Bombus affinis

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by NEWisc

It was an exciting event! Not only from the point of being visited by a rare bumble bee but also also as an affirmation that establishing native plants in our yards has real ecological value.

Congratulations.

...and thank you for the encouraging words as well.

[jack]

https://www.theguardian.com/environm...tinction-study

[Martha]

Plant more natives, talk to anyone who will listen about ecological gardening. It starts to sink in. My mother-in-law now grows milkweed, when just a few short years she swore at it as she yanked it out. Many gardeners here in NYC plant natives where they can. And I’m going to start looking more closely at bumblebees for the single rusty patch thanks to you guys. The news is so discouraging, but that just means that we have to work harder and faster. And don bee costumes and flap our wings! Okay, maybe not that...

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by Martha

Plant more natives, talk to anyone who will listen about ecological gardening. It starts to sink in. My mother-in-law now grows milkweed, when just a few short years she swore at it as she yanked it out. Many gardeners here in NYC plant natives where they can. And I’m going to start looking more closely at bumblebees for the single rusty patch thanks to you guys. The news is so discouraging, but that just means that we have to work harder and faster. And don bee costumes and flap our wings! Okay, maybe not that...

Good to hear!

Very inspirational--until I read about donning a be costume.

[jack]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

Good to hear!

Very inspirational--until I read about donning a be costume.

I love the upbeat attitude, as it is probably all we have aside from planting accordingly in our back and front yards. Nevertheless, this is scary information, and I've been noticing that, even with all the pollinating plants I have already on my property, I easily see each summer the decline in all insects. These are scary times...

[Martha]

Originally Posted by jack

I love the upbeat attitude, as it is probably all we have aside from planting accordingly in our back and front yards. Nevertheless, this is scary information, and I've been noticing that, even with all the pollinating plants I have already on my property, I easily see each summer the decline in all insects. These are scary times...

Agreed about the scary times. I recently went to an Ecological Plant Alliance conference. There were many people working in public lands telling their experiences. The overriding them was that their budgets weren't big enough to have enough crew to battle all the invasives on their land. I am always curious to know whether I could "adopt" a patch of city land to landscape. Would the city be relieved to have one less space to manage, or would they tell me to buzz off? Do I even have time to deal with the bureaucracy? Can I just grab a patch and plant it without asking permission? Like guerrilla gardening. Maybe we need to fan out of our own gardens. This is probably topic for a different thread.

[jack]

Originally Posted by Martha

Agreed about the scary times. I recently went to an Ecological Plant Alliance conference. There were many people working in public lands telling their experiences. The overriding them was that their budgets weren't big enough to have enough crew to battle all the invasives on their land. I am always curious to know whether I could "adopt" a patch of city land to landscape. Would the city be relieved to have one less space to manage, or would they tell me to buzz off? Do I even have time to deal with the bureaucracy? Can I just grab a patch and plant it without asking permission? Like guerrilla gardening. Maybe we need to fan out of our own gardens. This is probably topic for a different thread.

I like it: guerrilla gardening!

[skip1909]

I really need to find the relevant state agencies and their public forums who think wholescale pesticide spraying is the answer to mosquito and tick problems. Both carry some scary diseases but PPE is surely a better solution than the spraying and habitat destruction.

[dapjwy]

Originally Posted by jack

I love the upbeat attitude, as it is probably all we have aside from planting accordingly in our back and front yards. Nevertheless, this is scary information, and I've been noticing that, even with all the pollinating plants I have already on my property, I easily see each summer the decline in all insects. These are scary times...

I am not sure if I have noticed a decline in insects on our property or not, but I am concerned that I will notice this year.

[Martha]

Originally Posted by dapjwy

I am not sure if I have noticed a decline in insects on our property or not, but I am concerned that I will notice this year.

What are your adjoining properties like? You can all pretty much imagine mine in Brooklyn. So much concrete. But I have a family house in Bethesda, MD that we rent out. I am inspired to do some more landscaping and eliminate more lawn.

The adjoining properties are pretty typical suburban, however there are still interesting wildlife sightings. We had a black snake living in the hollow of a tree in my front yard.