2 MILLION BLOSSOMS


A female Virginia carpenter bee Xylocopa viginica


stage of development. Avoid using Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) insecticides, even though it is permitted on organic farms. Yes, Bt is “natural” and can be used by organic farmers, but          pests and produce a toxin that kills caterpillars through their gut. The Bt used in mosquito dunks is a different strain not         evidence suggests that some fungicides can harm caterpil- lars; they’ve also been shown to impact bee development, so are best avoided in a garden. Another controversy revolves around whether herbicides, used to kill weeds, can harm cat- erpillars. The safest route is to avoid all chemical control, even though this translates into more hand weeding and hard work. To limit your weeding effort, clump your plants close together so they shade out the weeds or use mulch between plants in order to shade out weeds and conserve moisture.    


 can sun themselves when temperatures drop. When you add focal points in your garden to attract


 - or taking wing. You may attract other species that are just 


38


muted species that blend with the background. Who knows what you will discover, but I hope this tale of parsley and the swallowtail encourages you to foster the populations of but-   a caterpillar has beaten me there.


For More Information:


https://wimastergardener.org/article/black-swallowtail-papilio- polyxenes/


http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/bfly2/eastern_black_ swallowtail.htm


Dr. Janet Lanza is an Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. As an ecologist, she focused her research on plant-animal interactions; as an educator, she focused her activities on the development and im- plementation of student-generated experiments in biology labs. She is the author of more than 50 professional journal articles and the mentor of more than 100 undergraduate researchers. In retirement, she spends her time writing, lecturing, gardening, playing tennis, and traveling.


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