Digging In: Think of the Insects

By Jennifer Smith

I recently listened to The Insect Crisis, a book described as, “A devastating examination of how collapsing insect populations worldwide threaten everything from wild birds to the food on our plate.” As I was on the treadmill, hearing about the grim state of the insect population made what’s more a test of mental strength than a physical endurance, even more challenging. As I walked, I listened as the author revealed the alarming rate of insect decline. Step after step, mile after mile, I heard stories of how insect populations are plummeting. 

Scientists interviewed for the book reinforced what we’ve seen for ourselves, casting aside any doubt that our personal experiences are just anomalies. You aren’t mistaken. There are fewer insects on the windshield after a drive. It’s not just your car that’s cleaner, all cars are cleaner. Fewer moths circle porch lights and the fireflies that once illuminated the garden at night, and many jars on children’s nightstands, are becoming scarce. The book is fascinating and a bit depressing. I hate to cast a pall over your day, but the insects are dying, and this should alarm us.

There is hope, just look outside your door. If you’re planting with nature, you’ve taken a positive step forward. In your now chemical-free landscape that includes a generous collection of native plants, insects have found refuge. Solitary bees feed and make homes in the garden, which is left undisturbed much of the year. Birds find caterpillars to feed their young, and butterflies and skippers alight on flowers. 

Our modest yards can make a measurable difference. For example, let’s look at how our yards can help sustain the monarch butterfly. In 2017, the U.S. Geological Society stated that 1.8 billion additional stems of milkweed plants may be needed in North America to return monarchs to a sustainable population size. According to the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab one monarch plant can sustain a monarch caterpillar-butterfly. Technically, that’s true, but there are a few factors to consider such as the size and the variety of the milkweed plant in question. Also, monarchs tend to lay more than one egg per plant. But the idea of one plant per butterfly is easier to wrap our heads around than needing more than a billion milkweed stems. The one-to-one ratio is manageable and offers the home gardener a solution to insect decline: Add as many asclepias as you can. Think of it as stacking the deck in favor of the monarch: The more you have to offer the monarchs, the more likely your garden will support a few new butterflies. If your garden sees the transition of one egg, to caterpillar, to butterfly, that’s one more butterfly than last year. 

The humble front yard pollinator garden is more than a safe place for insects and nature, it’s a catalyst for change, with the potential to ignite a beautiful chain reaction of more homeowners dedicating part of their yard to nature. Your front yard pollinator garden sets a new standard in landscape design where native plants and gardens that stand through winter are expected. Soon, a yard of just lawn and obligatory shrubs is the anomaly, not the norm. What was once a little oasis on the street has grown into a pollinator corridor that’s repeated street after street. 

The stresses facing nature can feel daunting and overwhelming when we look at them with the perspective of what we can do as one person. We must remember that we have control over our landscape, and if we dedicate a portion of our lawn, of which there are 40 million acres in the United States, we can make a positive and measurable impact on native plants and animals. 

Jennifer Smith is an award-winning pollinator garden designer with Wimberg Landscaping.