These organizations are made up of passionate and knowledgeable people who are dedicated to teaching you about the plants that are indigenous to the region where each group is located.

The absolute best way to begin to discover which native plants will work best in your wildlife garden is to connect with your local native plant society as well as nearby native plant nurseries.

These folks are passionate about native plants and love to share their knowledge with anyone who asks. Since their gardens are probably close by, they can give you the best answers about what will work best in your garden.

Below is a guide to the native plant societies in the US and Canada.

Note: This list is just an introduction to the comprehensive list of native plant resources for the United States and Canada website

Also check out these related resources:

• Master Naturalist Programs by State
• Native Plant Certificate Programs
• Native Plant Nurseries, Organizations, and Resources for North America a comprehensive list of resources

North America Native Plant Society

Native Plant Societies in the US

Alabama Native Plant Society

Alabama Wildflower Society

Alaska Native Plant Society

Alaska Native Plant Society

Arkansas Native Plant Society

Arkansas Native Plant Society

Arizona Native Plant Society

Arizona Native Plant Society

California Native Plant Society

California Native Plant Society

Colorado Native Plant Society

Colorado Native Plant Society

Connecticut Native Plant Society

Connecticut Botanical Society

Delaware Native Plant Society

Delaware Native Plant Society Nursery

Florida Native Plant Society

Florida Native Plant Society

Georgia Native Plant Society

Georgia Native Plant Society

Hawaii Native Plant Society

Native Hawaiian Plant Society

Idaho Native Plant Society

Idaho Native Plant Society

Illinois Native Plant Society

Illinois Native Plant Society

Indiana Native Plant Society

Indiana Native Plant & Wildflower Society

Iowa Native Plant Society

Iowa Native Plant Society

Kansas Native Plant Society

Kansas Native Plant Society

Kentucky Native Plant Society

Kentucky Native Plant Society

Louisiana Native Plant Society

Louisiana Native Plant Society

Maine Native Plant Society

Maine Chapter, New England Wild Flower Society

Maryland Native Plant Society

Maryland Native Plant Society

Massachusetts Native Plant Society

New England Wild Flower Society

Michigan Native Plant Society

Wildflower Association of Michigan

Minnesota Native Plant Society

Minnesota Native Plant Society

Mississippi Native Plant Society

Mississippi Native Plant Society

Missouri Native Plant Society

Missouri Native Plant Society

Montana Native Plant Society

Montana Native Plant Society

Nebraska Native Plant Society

Nebraska Native Plant Society

Nevada Native Plant Society

Nevada Native Plant Society

New Hampshire Native Plant Society

New Hampshire Chapter, New England Wild Flower Society

New Jersey Native Plant Society

The Native Plant Society of New Jersey

New Mexico Native Plant Society

Native Plant Society of New Mexico

New York Native Plant Society

New York Flora Association

North Carolina Native Plant Society

North Carolina Native Plant Society

North Dakota Native Plant Society

Great Plains Native Plant Society

Ohio Native Plant Society

Ohio Native Plant Society

Oregon Native Plant Society

Native Plant Society of Oregon

Pennsylvania Native Plant Society

Pennsylvania Native Plant Society

Rhode Island Native Plant Society

Rhode Island Wild Plant Society

South Carolina Native Plant Society

South Carolina Native Plant Society

South Dakota Native Plant Society

Great Plains Native Plant Society

Tennessee Native Plant Society

Tennessee Native Plant Society

Texas Native Plant Society

Native Plant Society of Texas

Utah Native Plant Society

Utah Native Plant Society

Vermont Native Plant Society

Vermont Chapter, New England Wild Flower Society

Virginia Native Plant Society

Virginia Native Plant Society

Washington Native Plant Society

Washington Native Plant Society

West Virginia Native Plant Society

West Virginia Native Plant Society

Wisconsin Native Plant Society

Botanical Club of Wisconsin

Wyoming Native Plant Society

Wyoming Native Plant Society

Native Plant Societies in Canada

North America Native Plant Society–NANPS is dedicated to the Study, Conservation, Cultivation and Restoration of North America’s Native Flora. Follow on Facebook

Alberta Native Plant Council

British Columbia

Native Plant Society of British Columbia

Manitoba

Native Orchid Conservation Inc

New Brunswick

New Brunswick Botany Club

Newfoundland and Labrador

Wildflower Society of Newfoundland and Labrador

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Wild Flora Society

Ontario

Field Botanists of Ontario

Quebec

FloraQuebeca

Saskatchewan

Native Plant Society of Saskatchewan

We humans are a self important lot. We choose and toss away celebrities and fads like the chocolates in a box whose fillings we don’t like. Sadly the same mindset follows us into our gardens.

We carve ourselves a home smack dab in the midst of an existing community and because that community doesn’t speak our language we think nothing of rendering them homeless and hungry in the process. No, I’m not making a political statement about the displaced native Americans whose homes we ripped away from them, I am aiming much deeper than even that.

The weeds that plague our collective suburban existence are actually food and shelter for the true natives of our lands. The birds, rabbits, insects and squirrels all require the same basic things that we do – something to eat and a place to lay our heads. Why are we so self-involved as to think that we can not only take away their natural habitats but also trap, block and even poison them into submission when they try to meet their simple needs in our carefully manicured gardens?

The next time you rip out a few more trees in the name of a bigger garden plot, perhaps you might pause long enough to look beyond yourself and your own needs. You may just find that you can live with what you’ve already got. And so can they.

If you’re a gardener, you may have heard of Michael Nolan, the self-proclaimed “Garden Rockstar.” This passionate horticulturist and author has made a name for himself in the gardening world with his unique approach to gardening and his infectious energy.

Born and raised in the countryside of Ireland, Michael has always had a love for nature and the outdoors. He started gardening at a young age, and as he grew older, his passion for horticulture only grew stronger. He eventually pursued a degree in horticulture and went on to work as a professional gardener for several years.

But it was his love for teaching others about gardening that led him to become a garden rockstar. Michael’s approach to gardening is different from what you might expect. He believes that gardening should be fun, and he wants to make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their skill level or experience.

In his book, “Gardening Made Easy,” Michael shares his expertise and enthusiasm for gardening in a way that is both informative and entertaining. He covers everything from how to select the right plants for your garden to how to care for them properly. He also shares tips and tricks for creating a garden that is both beautiful and functional.

Michael’s mission is to make gardening accessible and enjoyable for everyone, and he does just that with his lively and engaging style. He has a strong following on social media and has been featured in several gardening magazines and on television shows.

Michael Nolan, The Garden Rockstar is an author, blogger and speaker on gardening, sustainability, food ethics and homesteading.

Most of you have probably heard of Colony Collapse Disorder, a phenomenon where honey bees are dying off by the millions. A large part of our agricultural food supply is dependent on pollination by honey bees, this collapse is a matter of great concern to farmers across the country.

Because the rise of factory monoculture farms has co-evolved with industrial bee keeping here in the U.S., our food supply has become dependent on the services of the non-native honey bee, to the exclusion and detriment of our native pollinators.

The collapse of honey bee colonies caused farmers and the corporate agricultural industry to turn their eyes to native pollinators to fulfill the essential ecosystem service of pollination of our food supply. However, it was soon apparent that many native pollinators had vanished and others were in sharp decline.

What Happened to the Native Pollinators?

1. Habitat loss and fragmentation–both the outright destruction of habitat, and chopping it down into smaller and smaller isolated fragments threaten the diversity and abundance of native pollinators (and all wildlife).
2. Habitat degradation–this reflects both the influx of invasive species and some land management practices, such as modern mowers and string trimmers which can cut in places which previously would have been left to grow, reducing both floral and structural diversity. Invasive organisms outcompete native species, replacing them with inferior foraging and egg-laying opportunities. Herbicides used instead of hand weeding kill all plants, removing forage for native pollinators. Our passion for “neatness” is destroying habitat for pollinators.
3. Pesticides–don’t just kill target species, but kill all species. Pesticides and herbicides are having a disastrous impact on native pollinators. Pesticides kill directly, while herbicides reduce the variety and amount of available forage.

These threats to our native pollinators are all the result of human action, and it will only be through human actions that reverse these trends that pollinators (and all wildlife) will be able to survive these dangers.

What You Can Do to Help Native Pollinators

1. Stop using herbicides and pesticides
2. Plant a wide diversity of plants whose bloom times overlap and last from early spring through late fall. Diversity is key here, you want lots of plants that bloom in March/April, lots in bloom through the summer, and a wide variety of blooms through the fall. The more diverse your plantings, the more pollinators you can support.
3. Protect and create appropriate nesting and egg-laying sites. Bees need sites in the ground or woody vegetation and nesting materials and butterflies require appropriate host plants (each species requires a specific plant). Many bees nest in the stems of flowering plants, so don’t cut them down until the following spring after the bees have emerged.
4. Create sheltered, undisturbed sites for hibernation and overwintering. Brush piles, rock piles, log piles, and hedgerows are great ways to accomplish this.

Planning your Ecosystem Garden to support native pollinators will also benefit many other species of wildlife. Everything is connected, and actions taken to help one kind of wildlife often have beneficial effects for other species as well.

Check out the Pollinator Conservation Handbook to discover more ways of helping native pollinators in your Ecosystem Garden. (This is an affiliate link, your purchase of this book through this link will contribute $0.80 to the upkeep of this site. Thank you!)

What are you doing for pollinators in your Ecosystem Garden? Do you have a butterfly garden, bee nesting blocks, or safe places for pollinators to spend the winter?

While chatting with one of these farmers, I was so pleased to hear her speak of the native pollinators she depends on to pollinate her crops: the squashes, the peppers, her tomatoes, her cucumbers, and so much more.

Supporting our local organic farmers really is crucial to our own health and the safety of our food supply, but also to the health of our native pollinators. Shop small, shop local can absolutely be applied to these farmers who are working so hard, not only to bring us safe, delicious food, but also to protect the land, the environment, and all of the critters who are dependent on this habitat.

And your wildlife garden can also play a crucial role in protecting these pollinators.

Supporting local organic farmers is not just good for the environment, but it can also have some great benefits for you and your community. By choosing to buy organic, you’re choosing food that is free from harmful chemicals and pesticides, making it a healthier choice for you and your family.

Not only are you feeding yourself and your loved ones nutritious and tasty food, but you’re also supporting sustainable agriculture practices. Organic farming relies on natural processes to grow crops, rather than harmful chemicals, which means that the soil, water, and air in your community will be cleaner. This, in turn, creates a healthier environment for wildlife and future generations.

When you buy from local organic farmers, you’re also supporting the local economy. By keeping your food dollars close to home, you’re helping to create and maintain local jobs, and preserving local food traditions. This also helps to reduce the carbon footprint of your food, as it doesn’t have to travel long distances to reach you.

So, next time you’re grocery shopping, consider looking for products from your local organic farmers. Not only will you be making a positive impact on your own health and the environment, but you’ll also be supporting your community and local economy.

This is a difficult question for me to answer for personal reasons, but I’m going to fill you all in here instead of answering this individually in your emails.

Several years ago I was injured in a car accident which has left me with some lingering physical issues that make it difficult to maintain my garden as I had become used to. If you want to know the whole story, you can read about A Man Named Earl, where I’ve talked about it.

For our purposes here, the simplest way to put it is that my garden is a mess. I’ve got Lesser Celandine pressing in from one side, Norway Maples shading out the other side, English Ivy everywhere, and Bishop Weed taking over the front.

In a word, my garden is not a shining example right now of what an Ecosystem Garden can look like, and I was afraid you’d think that wildlife gardens are nothing by an overgrown ugly mess.

That’s why I’ve shown you Helen Yoest‘s beautiful waterwise wildlife garden, and Ellen Sousa‘s amazing garden (I have barn envy), Cindy Ahern‘s bird and wildlife filled garden, Evelyn Lovitz‘s stunning wildlife garden and all the others in the showcase.

But most of the wildlife photos that illustrate these pages are taken in my own garden. Despite the out of control aspects of my garden, the birds, butterflies, and other wildlife continue to make their homes in my garden.

I had someone tell me recently that unless you are financially well off, you can’t expect to be able to have the kind of gardens that I describe here. I don’t think that this is at all true.

I’m far from financially well off right now and I know, as many others also know, that Ecosystem Gardening can save you money:

• Reduce your lawn. Less mowing means you’re using less gasoline
• Plant smart. Putting the right plants in the right place, grouping plants together by water needs, and planting more natives helps you save water which also saves money
• Use natural mulch. Leaf litter contains all of the elements necessary for soil health and feeding your plants. You save by not buying mulch or chemical fertilizers.

The point is you don’t have to redesign your entire garden and spend a lot of money to create an Ecosystem Garden. Every small step that you make for wildlife can make a big difference for wildlife.

When you’re buying a plant to fill that bare spot, think native. Native plants help wildlife.

Hang a hummingbird feeder, and choose plants that hummers can’t resist.

Add one host plant for a butterfly in your area. Also add nectar plants for the adults.

These are little steps that don’t cost a lot that can help the wildlife that is local to your region.

I’ve been having a lot of conversations on twitter and on Facebook about spring, most of them along the line of Will it ever get here? It was a very long, cold winter. And the northeast is bracing for another big snowstorm tomorrow, and this is what leads to our feelings of dismay. Will spring EVER come?

But many people have noted that one of their biggest signs that spring really is coming is that the Robins have returned.

But actually, the Robins never really left. They just change their behavior in the winter so we don’t notice them as much.

Every child knows that Robins eat worms. But they also eat lots of other things, too like insects, grubs, and even snails. We tend to notice them around our wildlife gardens because they hunt for these things on the ground. But they also eat fruit, which they search for in trees and shrubs, which is not where we’re used to seeing them.

When winter comes, the worms and insects aren’t as available to them, so during the cold months their diet consists mostly of fruit.

You may not be seeing them in your garden, so you think they’ve gone away, but Robins are year-round residents of the lower 48 states. During the winter months Robins gather together into huge flocks, sometimes numbering hundreds or even thousands of birds.

And they fly around in these flocks in search of fruit. When they find it, the whole flock will descend and strip every berry from the trees and shrubs that they find, often in a single afternoon.

So, if you want to see Robins in winter, plan now to add fruiting and berrying native shrubs and trees to your wildlife garden now. So by next winter you’ll have something to offer these fun and friendly birds.

Good choices include: American Holly (Ilex opaca), Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Cranberry Viburnum (Viburnum trilobum), and Winterberry (Ilex verticillata). Ask at your local native plant nursery which berrying shrubs will work best for the conditions in your garden.

Imagine you’ve flown all night, heading south to your wintering grounds. In the pre-dawn light you know it’s time to land and rest and refuel. You’re TIRED. So you land at the place you’ve rested every year on this journey, only to find that now your oasis is a parking lot. Where will you find the food that is so necessary to your survival? Where will you find a safe place to rest your weary wings?

Migratory birds face this dilemma every day of their journey. And that journey is in full swing right now. I’ve had 23 different species of warblers passing through my garden so far this fall, mainly because my garden is a lone oasis in a sea of urbanization. At night I can hear the little chirps that are the calls of birds in migration. The hawks are moving south above places like Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania, and the Canada Geese are filling the daytime skies. I love autumn because I get to see so many different kinds of birds stopping by on their migration.

Your Wildlife Garden can make a huge difference for migratory birds in a sea of shopping centers, business parks, and parking lots.

One third of U.S. birds are in danger of extinction, but there are many things that you can do to help.

During migration, birds need three things:

1. Food
2. Water
3. Safe places to rest

Let’s explore some ideas that you can do to meet each of these needs. I know, every book you’ve ever read about attracting birds spends most of its pages talking about bird feeders: what kinds are best, the best seeds for particular birds, and how to keep squirrels out of them. Many of these books and articles are written by folks who have a financial interest in selling you bird feeders and seed. This is a multi-billion dollar industry each year.

I love my bird feeders because it brings certain birds close enough to me for observation. But we can do so much more for birds by choosing plants that meet their needs naturally.

• You can provide shelter by creating brush piles in a back corner, planting native conifers like pines (Pinus spp), cedars (Juniperus spp), and hollies (Ilex spp), and planting plenty of shrubs to make a thicket or hedgerow.
• Grassland birds need seeds, so plant a meadow of native grasses and wildflowers whose seedheads will provide much needed nourishment and cover to sparrows, bobolinks, meadowlarks,and finches.
• Water can be provided by planting a rain garden, installing a pond with shallow, gently sloping edges, or by providing shallow saucers or birdbaths (make sure these are located where feral or neighbors cats cannot get to them).
• Leave the leaf litter in place under your shrubs. Migrating thrushes and wrens will pick through this in search of insects hiding within. Plus this is the best soil amendment you can get. You’ll not need any fertilizer if you allow the leaves to compost in place to feed your soil
• Plant plenty of tubular flowers for migrating hummingbirds. These include native honeysuckles, salvias, monardas, and lobelias.
• Fruiting shrubs provide a welcome meal to many birds including some warblers, orioles, tanagers, waxwings, and jays. Some of the best are viburnums, hollies, cedars, crabapples, and grapes.
]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/top-10-best-woody-plants-in-conservation-gardening.html Fri, 07 Oct 2022 15:54:08 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1341 When I am consulting with a new client about their Ecosystem Gardening goals, the number one question I am asked is, “What should I plant?” or “Just tell me what to plant and I’ll do it.” But choosing the best plants is dependent on many factors, such as soil type, moisture, amount of sun, and temperature. Take some time to learn these factors for your property. That will help you in choosing the best plants.

By now you know just how passionate I am about native plants for ecosystem gardening, but in the big scheme of things, some native plants far outshine others in the sheer numbers of wildlife that they support. When your focus is to attract wildlife to your garden, choosing the best plants will put you well on your way.

My thanks to Doug Tallamy and Kimberley Shropshire for compiling this list. You can find a portion of this list in Doug’s book, Bringing Nature Home: how native plants sustain wildlife in our gardens. In their research, they focused on how many Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) used each species, but you can be sure that if so many Lepidoptera species use these trees, that all other wildlife finds them just as beneficial.

It is important that you choose species from these families that are native to your area. Use the USDA plants database and check the range maps to choose the most appropriate species.

I’m going to fill out the list with some interesting facts to help you choose the right species for your ecosystem garden.

1. Quercus—Oaks support an astounding 543 species of Lepidoptera, including Polyphemus and Imperial moths, Banded Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, White M Hairstreak, Juvenal’s Duskywing, and Horace’s Duskywing. There are about 60 native species of Oak in the United States, which are divided into two groups: the white oaks, and the red oaks.
2. —Prunus include: beach plum, cherry, chokecherry, peach, plum, sweet cherry, wild plum, and almond. These plants support 456 Lepidoptera species, including Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Coral Hairstreak, Striped Hairstreak, Red-spotted Purple, Cecropia moth, Promethea Moth, and Hummingbird Clearwing.
3. Salix—455 butterfly and moth species use Willows. Including Mourning Cloak, Red-spotted Purple, and Viceroy.
4. Betula—Birch are used by 411 species, including Luna Moth, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Cecropia Moth, and Polyphemus Moth.
5. Populus—367 species use aspen, cottonwood, and poplar. These include Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Mourning Cloak, and Twinspot Sphinx Moth,
6. Malus—crabapple and apple are used by 308 species, inclucing Io Moth, and Cecropia Moth.
7. Acer—Maple and boxelder are used by 297 species, including Io Moth, Saddled Prominent, Luna Moth, and Imperial Moth. Please do not plant Norway Maples. They are highly invasive.
8. Vaccinium—cranberry and blueberry are used by 294 species, including Brown Elfin, Spring Azure, and Striped Hairstreak
9. Alnus—Alder is used by 255 species including Orange Sulphur, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, and Giant Swallowtail.
10. Carya—Hickory, pecan, pignut, and bitternut are used by 235 Lepidoptera species, including Io Moth, Polyphemus Moth, Luna Moth, Pale Tussock Moth, and American Dagger Moth.

You can’t go wrong by adding one or more of these plants to your Ecosystem Garden. Which ones do you have?

More about native plants here:

What makes a plant invasive: the first lesson in what NOT to plant

Top 10 Best Hebaceous Plants for Ecosystem Gardening

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]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/ecosystem-gardening-and-native-plants.html Fri, 07 Oct 2022 15:54:08 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1327 Here at Ecosystem Gardening we’ve been discussing the goal of adding more native plants to our gardens to increase the value to wildlife in our landscapes.

But did you know that saying the words “native plant” will send some in the gardening world into passionate heated arguments? I am finding this out with repeated frequency. There really are places where this is a dirty word.

I guess it should be no surprise that this happens, given the lack of actual political discussion in this country. Instead we have two sides, firmly entrenched in their beliefs who hurl hate-filled vindictive speech back and forth at each other and no actual conversation actually takes place (and nothing gets done).

Apparently our society is built on this model: choose your side, refuse to listen to anyone who didn’t choose that side, and hurl flaming arrows of verbal abuse at each other.

But gardeners? Really?



I’ve been called a native plant nazi, a meanie-greanie, and worse. And sadly, I’ve also seen some native plant advocates call others irresponsible, ignorant, and uninformed. I’ve heard people say “You can have this invasive plant when you pry it from my cold dead fingers.”

Kind of sounds just like that gun control argument, doesn’t it? But why? Why do we heap such abuse on each other? This is a very sad state of affairs to me that gardeners treat each other with such disrespect.

I’ve also seen a website that trashed a book because of the over 300 pages in that book, she dared to mention the value of native plants to wildlife and ecosystem health in 3 of those pages.

So What is All the Fuss About Native Plants?

First, let me clearly state that I have never advocated here that you have only native plants in your wildlife garden. It’s not a good idea to remove all of the exotic plants from your garden, and start from scratch. That would be an overwhelming project.

What I do encourage people to do is to increase the proportion of native plants because native plants support more wildlife. And I strongly discourage the sale, purchase, and planting of invasive plants, which are destroying our natural ecosystems at an alarming rate.

Native Plants Support More Wildlife

Native plants are important because they support local food webs. Over the millenia native plants and insects have evolved together, acting and reacting on each other.

A plant would develop some kind of defense to protect itself from insect predation. Most insects could not overcome those defenses so they moved on to another plant. But some insects did overcome those protections and are able to feed on specific plants that others cannot eat.

Most insects are now specialists. That means that they can only eat one specific plant, or one family of plants.

Now, why would we possibly want to encourage insects in our gardens? Birds!



Native plants and insects form the base of the food web that supports all other wildlife. Without those insects we would have no birds because 96% of our land birds feed insects to their young, no matter what those birds eat as adults.

Wildlife Declines Are Due to Habitat Destruction

In our quest to have a Starbucks and Walmart in every neighborhood, as urban areas have spread into suburbia and further still into exurbia, we have destroyed a lot of habitat for wildlife, leaving them no place to go.

This is where ecosystem gardening comes in. Your wildlife garden can make a very crucial difference for many species of wildlife.

When we choose to become stewards of our properties and create welcoming habitat for wildlife, we are choosing to give something back to the wildlife that are dependent on those ecosystems.

Your wildlife garden can be a living ecosystem, supporting wildlife in the soil, in your choice of native plants, and by creating habitats that provide food and water, and shelter and safe places for wildlife to raise their young.

Since native plants are the basis of the foodweb that supports these ecosystems, it only makes sense to add more of them to our gardens, and to choose those native plants that offer the most value to wildlife.

]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/why-are-there-so-many-tiger-swallowtails-this-year.html Sat, 21 Jan 2023 11:55:59 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1235 Why ARE they so many Eastern Tiger Swallowtails this Year?

This year there are more Eastern Tiger Swallowtails in my garden than I have ever seen before. In years past I’ve seen one, maybe two, Tiger Swallowtails per day in my garden. This year I’m seeing 10, 15, and even 20 at a time in my wildlife garden.

And in every wildlife garden I visit it’s the same there, too. People up and down the East Coast are remarking on this phenomenon, too.

So, I decided to find out what was going on. When I have any questions about butterflies I go to my friend and mentor Pat Sutton who is a walking butterfly encyclopedia, and her passion for creating butterfly gardens is infectious.

Pat in turn posed the question to her friend and mentor, David Wright. His response is fascinating:

Same observations have been reported through out Pennsylvania. I have no explanation. It’s one of the still unsolved mysteries of invertebrate biology. Population fluctuations are natural; they could be the result of internal genetics (as in small mammals like voles) or the could be the result of a bad year for their parasitoids/viruses (more likely).

A simple average temperature increase doesn’t seem to do it. I did do a literature search on the melanic enzyme pathway in dark morph females. It seems that heat cannot create more black females. But the heat can make the black females a more “dusty” intermediate phenotype. Scattered black scales are converted to yellow.

This search was in response to comments on PA-LepOdes that there were more black females being seen this summer, without a substantial increase in Pipevine Swallowtails. After a week these comments ceased. I think we were observing an emergence of a fresh brood that was atttracted to flower-filled in peak bloom. It’s quite impressive to walk through a large meadow in bloom and see 200 swallowtails.

Tiger Swallowtails peak in April/May and again in July/August, although they can be seen anytime from March to October. So it is possible that the large numbers of these butterflies that everyone is reporting is just the result of this normal peak in their population.

But is it possible that the unnaturally cold (and unnatural amounts of snowfall) affected the parasitoids that normally put a damper on the numbers of adult Tiger Swallowtails?

The thing is, there are many questions about nature that scientists don’t yet have all the answers to. But Mother Nature knows what she’s doing, I’m sure. For now, I will just glory in the sight of these beautiful visitors to my wildlife garden.

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