The Birds, Bees, and Butterflies Too

 

 

 

 By Melissa Donahue

Naturalist

Spring has arrived!  The weather is warmer.  We are all anxious to get outside, in the woods and in our yards.  Many of us are planning gardens and purchasing plants with the birds, bees, and other insects in mind. But be aware, a plant labeled butterfly, bird, or bee friendly, may not be so.

 

Farm equipment spraying pesticides 

 

As a beekeeper I’ve known about the dangers of Neonicotinoids (Neonics) for a while.  Neonics are now the most widely used insecticides in the world.  Used in both agricultural and ornamental plants, neonicotinoids are highly toxic to many insects. The insecticide is applied as a coating on a crop seed or sprayed directly onto the plants after they grow.  If coated on the seeds this coating is water soluble and is taken up and dispersed throughout the plant.  Although meant to target only destructive insects, they affect all insects.  The residual of neonics can stay in the soil and pollute the ground water. Unfortunately, the insecticide has been detected in untreated crops and woody plants.

 

 

Honey Bee on Flower

 This poison is systemic and found in the pollen and nectar of plants.  When bees, (honey, solitary, and bumble) visit the flowers of neonic-treated plants, they are negatively affected.  Honeybees may experience problems with flight and navigation, be slower at learning new tasks, and have reduced taste sensitivity.  This effects the overall productivity of the hive.

 

 

Beekeepers

Management by humans helps to maintain the population of honeybees  The native bees are not as lucky.

 Bumblebee

 When visiting neonic-treated plants, bumble bees experience reduction in food productions, reduced reproduction rates, lower worker survival rates, reduced colony survival and diminished foraging activity.  Because a Bumblebee Queen’s production is significantly reduced by neonic exposure, there will be fewer colonies established over the following year.

 

Female  Mining Bee - photo credit: FarmandDairy.com

 

Some solitary bees can be affected by delayed maturation of larva, reproduction ability and increased  mortality rates due to neonic exposure.

 

    Purple Martin with Insect - Photo Credit Charlie Curry

 

Because I was focused on bees, I didn’t take into consideration the full impact of neonicotinoids.  These pesticides affect the entire food chain.  They are not only harmful to insects, but to the birds and other animals that consume these insects.  Studies have revealed these insecticides are harmful to birds and invertebrates even when used at low levels.    

 

 Male Bluebird – Photo Credit Deb Beasley

According to a study published in Nature the increase in neonicotinoid use led to statistically significant reductions in bird biodiversity between 2008 and 2014 relative to a counterfactual without neonicotinoid use, particularly for grassland and insectivorous birds, with average annual rates of reduction of 4% and 3%, respectively. The corresponding rates are even higher (12% and 5%, respectively) when the dynamic effects of bird population declines on future population growth are considered. Li, Y., Miao, R. & Khanna, M. Neonicotinoids and decline in bird biodiversity in the United States. Nat Sustain 3, 1027–1035 (2020).  This article contains more information.   https://abcbirds.org/neonics#:~:text=As%20our%202013%20report%20revealed,enough%20to%20kill%20a%20songbird. 

Monarch Butterfly on Thistle

 It’s not just the birds and bees that are at risk because of neonicotinoids. Recent studies have also detected a disturbing downward trend in monarch butterfly populations.  A naturally occurring parasite, Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) has increased in the monarch population. This debilitating pest can shorten the monarch’s life span.  

 

Tropical Milkweed - Photo Credit - North American Butterfly Association.

Along with climate change, one plant is believed to contribute to this decline.  Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), a non-native milkweed, is attractive to both butterflies and humans. The Monarchs will land on the leaves of this milkweed and some of the spores from the parasite will fall onto the leaves.     When the spores fall onto the leaves of a native milkweed, the spores die in the winter when the leaves fall off the plant.  Because of climate change this plant can now survive southern winters, the leaves never fall off and the spores survive.  Winter survival of the parasite leads to a larger population of parasites.  This larger population of parasites is responsible for the decline in the monarch population.  More information is contained in this article.

https://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/Oe_fact_sheet.pdf

 

 Butterfly weed is a beautiful native milkweed.

We can turn things around.  Use native plants purchased from a respected nursery.  Buy organic food when you can.  Check the labels when buying flowers and seeds, if they are not labeled, ask if the plants were grown with neonicotinoids.  Support research and local charities, such as Friends of Warner Parks, https://www.warnerparks.org/  that value native plants, the birds, and pollinators.   Making these changes will keep the birds, bees and butterflies around for a long time.