With European honey bees dying off, farmers are rightfully worrying about the pollination of their fields. Might the native American bumble bee serve as a suitable replacement? A recent shows that native bumble bee species have consistently high pollination and seed production levels in red clover. Could they be as successful with farm crops? Red clover, which is grown as forage for animals and as a rotation crop to improve soil, is raised for seed in western Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It will not produce seed without pollination, so growers typically place two to five European honey bee hives in each field. However, bee diseases, mites, and colony collapse disorder have struck these farmers too. Worldwide, there are over 200 species of bumble bees, some of whom are known to pollinate red clover.

It’s not known whether or not these native bees can be induced to pollinate other types of crops, but that’s the next step in their research.

More info

Because I don’t want to completely eliminate these (or use harmful chemicals), what I have done is to plant plenty of extra parsley and just hand pick a few of the caterpillars off and let the rest remain so that I can enjoy these butterflies in my garden.

If you want to attrack these insects, you can also plant dill, as it’s another one of their favorite feasts. Finally, here is a nice link with great pictures to help you identify a variety of these insects on your plants. Another cool thing to observe is to see them display their beautiful orange horns when threatened. I will try to post a pic of this when I can.

Anyhow, I got my trusty audubon book out and identified them as northern flickers.  I was surprised to see that they were common and that their range covered a good portion of the US (as I had not remembered seeing them before). If anyone knows the exact species of northern flicker (based on the picture) I would enjoy hearing from you. Also, I will be posting many more pics of my property in the future (and the sights thereof).

Amonst the birds that I have seen in my yard are – Songbirds: cardinal, blue jay, wren, titmouse, chickadee, rufous tohwee, yellow finch, indigo bunting, painted bunting, black birds, sparrows, robbins, grackle, warblers, doves, oriole, catbird, humming bird. Woodpeckers: downy, red headed, pileated, sapsucker, red bellied, hairy, norther flicker. Prey Birds: owls, hawks, kestrel, osprey, whip-poor-will.

There are many others (including the water birds that frequent my back yard marsh), but these are some that temporarily come to mind. On another note, please be thoughtful when clearing shrubbery and trees from your lot! Many people do this religously but don’t realize the impact it has on bird habitat. For example, the indigo bunting lives in a very small region along the eastern coast (and a few other spots) and they rely on the shrubbery for cover and nest building. Well of course, everyone who lives anywhere near the waterfront practices clear cutting for maximum views etc. and as a result this beautiful birds population is being severely threatened (sigh).