Happy Bees, Happy Yards

Photo: Spring Beauty Bee, Judy Gallagher

Plant NoVA Natives

Gardening to attract as many bees as possible is more than a rewarding pastime. It’s a blend of purpose, beauty and connection to something grand and greater than we are. The growing season is marching by, but sufficient time remains to add a few new bee-favorite flowering plants and shrubs to your property. Bees are key to the environment. Their health reflects the state of the health and interconnectedness of the surrounding world. If the bees are happy, so are the habitats they occupy.

Bees are among the most efficient and effective pollinators in the insect kingdom. Pollinators ensure the reproduction of 80% of all flowering plants, a Herculean feat that bees accomplish inadvertently. In the process of collecting nectar and pollen for their own use, bees become covered in the plant pollen, fertilizing plants as they move from bloom to bloom. The plants that bees pollinate have played their part as well, evolving flowers that are custom-built to attract bees by accommodating their unique preferences, anatomy and behavior. It is an ancient and productive partnership between two very different forms of life.

In more recent times we’ve come to appreciate the direct benefit bees provide to uncultivated ecosystems. In meadows, for example, bees cross-pollinate many different plants, which leads to genetic diversity and stronger, more resilient plant stocks. Bees promote the diversity of plants that help clean the air and water and reinvigorate the soil. Plants are the foundation of food chains that feed herbivores and, subsequently, carnivores. The native plants that grow and thrive in undisturbed natural settings fix carbon, release oxygen and mitigate soil erosion. In short, the health of wild ecosystems is greatly enhanced by the activity and industry of bees.

The non-native European honeybee, which arrived in North America in the 1600s, is well known and recognized in our region. However, the ecosystem depends on the 400+ species of native bees that were here in northern Virginia to begin with. Eighty percent of them are generalists and will visit many different flowers. The rest are specialists that need access to specific native plants to survive.

Native bumblebees are a good example of generalists. There are 14 species of native bumble bees in northern Virginia, all of which are adorable, hardworking and fast. A bumblebee can pollinate six blueberry flowers in the time it takes a European honeybee to pollinate just one. European honeybees are highly social insects that live together in colonies. The native Spring Beauty Bees, on the other hand, are small, solitary bees. It is a specialist that emerges in early spring and relies heavily on the Spring Beauty ephemeral flower to survive. You can often see females carrying large amounts of pink pollen collected from the Spring Beauties.

But whether they are large or small, generalists or specialists, social or solitary, all native bees are suffering. Habitat loss and fragmentation, pesticide use, and climate change are the primary causes. Their food sources and nesting sites are disappearing. Their numbers are declining, some drastically, others less so. Despite these complex threats, there is much we as individuals can do to protect them.

1. Tuck some of the native flowers and shrubs that are known to support bees into blank spaces in your garden. (See the Gardening for Bees link, below). After the heat of summer fades, add some spring ephemerals to help the early season native bees next year. It’s worth mentioning that bees are highly unlikely to sting when gathering food, as many gardeners will attest. When issues occur, it’s almost always because bees are defending their nests, and that is only an issue for a few species.

2. Remove non-native invasives from your property. They greatly disrupt native ecosystems.

3. Plant and maintain a pollinator garden that is reserved exclusively for native plants. With some care and planning, it can mimic a mini meadow.

4. Add a source of water like a birdbath to your garden.

5. Don’t spray for mosquitoes. The mosquitoes tend to reappear quickly after a spraying, but almost every other insect the mosquito fog reaches, including bees, will be annihilated.

6. Avoid the use of any pesticide.

7. Most native bees nest in the ground, so leave some bare ground in your garden or landscape for tunneling.

8. Think about leaving dead stalks in place for a year or two. Some native bees overwinter or reproduce in those stalks and need time to grow and emerge. 

Bees are small but mighty creatures who need our help as never before. Our own future is served when we help shelter, feed, and protect them. Let’s see what we can do to help. For more information about native bees and the plants that attract and support them, visit the “Gardening for Bees” page of the Plant NoVA Natives website, which, among other interesting information, offers suggestions for pairing specific plants with the bees that are known to visit their blooms.

Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Creating Habitat for Butterflies

Photo: Monarch butterfly nectaring on a thistle, Judy Gallagher

Cliff Fairweather

Do you want more butterflies around your home? Consider creating a butterfly habitat that will attract not just adult butterflies passing through but will support butterflies throughout their life cycles. A habitat is where a living thing finds what it needs for survival: food, water, shelter, and space. Butterflies undergo a four-stage metamorphosis, which includes egg, caterpillar (larva), chrysalis (pupa), and adult. The specific habitat needs of butterflies change as they go through their life cycles, so the challenge in creating butterfly habitat is to meet their needs in each stage. 

Tiger Swallowtails, Virginia’s state insect, nectaring on buttonbush. Photo: Judy Gallagher

Adult butterflies need high-energy fuel for activities such as flight, foraging, mating, and egg laying, and that fuel is flower nectar. Nectar is essentially sugar water produced by flowers to attract pollinators. Butterflies seek it from a wide variety of herbaceous and woody flowering plants. They are opportunistic feeders, mostly without strong preferences for particular species of nectar flowers. They do have preferences, however, for particular flower characteristics. Butterflies have good color vision and are attracted to flowers with bright colors, especially yellow, orange, white, pink, red, and blue. They also are attracted to flowers with floral scents and flowers rich in nectar. 

Flower shape and the arrangement of flowers on a plant influence which nectar plants butterflies choose. They strongly favor flowers with tubular corollas, such as phloxes, which accommodate a butterfly’s long, thin proboscis. Because different butterflies have proboscises of different lengths, plant flowers with a variety of corolla lengths to attract a wider diversity of butterflies.

Nectar plants with clusters of many small flowers offer efficient nectaring for butterflies, such as this Great Spangled Fritillary. Photo: Judy Gallagher.

Butterflies tend to prefer plants with loose clusters of smaller flowers, like milkweeds, or tight clusters of small to tiny flowers, like asters. Clustered flowers offer efficient nectaring opportunities, enabling butterflies to visit many flowers quickly with a minimum of flying. Butterflies also tend to select flowers, such as sunflowers and asters, that provide a relatively flat, stable landing place. This allows them to rest while they feed. 

Most native plants have relatively short blooming periods, so try to offer a diverse mix of nectar plants with varied blooming times to ensure that something is blooming throughout the growing season. This bloom time table from Plant NoVA Natives is a good reference. Different butterfly species often forage at different heights, so offering plants of various heights can draw more butterfly diversity. Avoid cultivars of native species, because they might have undesirable characteristics, such as not producing nectar or producing nectar that is difficult to access. This document lists some examples of nectar plants native to northern Virginia, but there are many others. Consult your local native plant society chapter, butterfly club, naturalist organization, native plant vendors, or nature center for more choices.

Massing nectar plants of the same species together, rather than spreading them out, will create beacons for foraging butterflies. Plant taller plants towards the back and shorter plants in front of them so they aren’t hidden from view. If you have space, place trees and shrubs to shield nectar plants from the prevailing winds, making it easier for foraging butterflies to nectar on windy days. These also provide butterfly perching, roosting, basking, and sheltering sites.

Nectar and host plants alone don’t provide all the nutrients butterflies need. Most also need nutrients such as amino acids, nitrogen, and sodium. These are especially important for reproductive success. To obtain these, they engage in a behavior called puddling, where they land on patches of damp soil or sand, often at the edge of water puddles. They use their proboscises to imbibe nutrients from the wet spot. 

Butterfly adults, mostly males, visit damp soil or sand to imbibe nutrients not available in nectar. These are Eastern-tailed Blues. Photo: Judy Gallagher

You can create a puddling site by creating a patch of bare soil or sand in a flat, sunny spot in your habitat that you can wet down every day or so. Puddling sites also can be an important source of water for butterflies. Some butterflies seek additional nutrients from animal dung and carrion. Some also feed on rotted fruit, so putting some out in your habitat, or leaving some fallen fruit from trees, might attract some additional species.

Silver-spotted Skipper egg on a Black Locust leaf: providing habitat for the entire butterfly life cycle will result in more butterflies using your habitat. Photo: Judy Gallagher.

While nectar plants fuel adult butterflies, caterpillars need something more substantial to nourish their enormous and rapid growth to as much as 100 times their size at hatching. To satisfy the appetites of their progeny, female butterflies search out host plants on which to lay their eggs. Not just any plant will do as a host, it must be a plant that their species is adapted to eat. Most plants produce toxins and other defenses to deter insects from eating them. Caterpillars evolve tolerances for or countermeasures against these defenses, giving them nearly exclusive access to their host plants as a food source. Because different plants have evolved different defenses, caterpillars usually specialize in a few species of host plants. 

To help decide what host plants to grow, learn what species of butterflies are likely to be found in your area. Of course, you’ll also need to take into consideration the growing conditions on your site. Host plants include many woody, as well as herbaceous, forms. Many, such as milkweed, do double duty as nectar plants. This document includes a table of butterfly species and their host plants. Butterfly field guides usually list host plants for each species they cover. Also, remember that because the purpose of planting host plants in your habitat is to feed caterpillars, you need to tolerate some damage to host plant foliage. That damage, though, is a sign of success – it means you’re raising caterpillars! 

Monarch butterfly caterpillars feeding on Common Milkweed. Creating butterfly habitat means tolerating some damage to host plants. Photo: Judy Gallagher.

Monarch Butterfly chrysalis: Chrysalises need an undisturbed place in your habitat to transform from caterpillar to adult. Photo: Judy Gallagher.

When they are ready to metamorphose into their pupal stage, caterpillars usually leave their host plant, but they don’t go far. Many species suspend their chrysalises from a plant, branch, or other structure, natural or human-made, while others pupate under leaf litter or in the soil. To support butterflies in their egg, caterpillar, and chrysalis stage, avoid being an overly tidy gardener. Leave leaf litter on the ground, as some butterflies, many moths, and other beneficial insects pupate in the fallen leaves. Also, resist the urge to do a late winter or early spring cleanup by removing last year’s dead vegetation, at least until temperatures have warmed for a while and overwintering eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises have had a chance to move on to their next stage. 

Beyond food and nutrients, butterflies need places to bask in the sun, find shelter from storms and predators, spend the night, hibernate, and perch. A large rock or steppingstone placed in a sunny spot can provide a basking site where butterflies can warm their flight muscles up to flying temperature. They also will use large leaves as basking sites. The underside of leaves can provide a shelter against rain, a hiding place from predators, or a place to spend the night. Tree cavities, loose bark, or even old bird houses can provide short-term shelters or hibernation sites for overwintering butterfly adults and chrysalises. Some male butterflies use rocks, shrubs, or trees as perches from which to watch for potential mates and rivals.

Monarch Butterfly nectaring on a thistle. Photo: Judy Gallagher.

Planning and managing your butterfly habitat needn’t be complicated, but there are some basic things you should consider. First of these is where to locate the habitat. Monitor your property to see if butterflies are already visiting and where they linger. Also, look for any existing native nectar or host plants. Butterflies are “cold blooded,” so select an area that gets sun for at least six to eight hours a day. The space needn’t be large, just enough room for some host and nectar plants and some other habitat elements. Even a patio or balcony can provide some habitat with container-grown plants

Once established, a butterfly habitat should be fairly low maintenance, but it is not maintenance-free. You will need to manage invasive exotic plants and thin out natives that are trying to take over. Pesticide use is incompatible with raising caterpillars, so consider non-toxic alternatives to pest control, including just waiting out infestations. Often, a predator or parasite will come along and handle the problem. 

Creating a butterfly habitat will do more than provide a home for butterflies. Other wildlife, from fireflies to songbirds, will use your habitat as well, and you will be making a valuable contribution to local biological diversity. Also, it’s just plain fun to have butterflies around!

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Catch up on past Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac articles here.

Attracting hummingbirds (and convincing them to stay a while)

Photo: Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Scarlet Beebalm, Sarah Holtz

Plant NOVA Natives

Hummingbirds may be the tiniest birds on the planet, but they are among the easiest and most delightful to observe. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are especially common in northern Virginia during the spring migration months of April and May and are the only species of hummingbirds who breed here. Most Ruby-throated Hummingbirds we spot through mid-May are flying through to other destinations. But some will choose to stay for weeks if the landscape offers them what they need.

With forethought and some planning, you can have a clear and frequent view of these 3.5-ounce, dive-bombing, backward-flying, shimmering, drama-obsessed, and Ferrari-engine-powered birds. If that sounds like fun, here are some tips to attract them now and get them to linger for the season.

Feed them nectar 

Hummingbirds have extreme metabolisms. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird’s heart beats up to 1,200 times per minute and its wings beat 53 times per second. They must consume very specific foods to survive, and they eat almost constantly.  

At least 20 percent of a hummingbird’s diet is nectar. They can’t taste “sweet,” but the nectar is a source of high-quality carbohydrates for their energy needs. They are therefore attracted to areas with nectar-producing native plants, many of which you can purchase, plant and grow. Before you make your plant selections, however, consider this. Ruby-throated Hummingbirds need to find and consume nectar through spring, summer, and fall. You should therefore select nectar-producing plants that flower at different times during the growing season.

Ruby-throated Hummingbird with Scarlet Beebalm, Sarah Holtz

Cardinal Flower, Eastern Red Columbine, and Coral Honeysuckle are considered the “big three” wildflower nectar sources for hummingbirds. Their flowers are all red, which signals the presence of carbohydrates to hummingbirds but not to bees who can’t see the color. They have also developed long tubular flowers with a pendulous and perch-less form, making them ideal sources of nectar for hovering, long-billed hummingbirds.

Of these three, Coral Honeysuckle is probably the number one recommended native plant for attracting hummingbirds. It blooms continuously through the growing season, timing its first bloom in northern Virginia close to the arrival of migrating Ruby-throated Hummingbirds in April. Eastern Red Columbine blooms in the spring and provides an early source of nectar, while Cardinal Flower begins blooming in July and lasts approximately 6-8 weeks. Planting all three around your property ensures a steady flow of nectar for many months.

You can also supplement your nectar-producing plants with hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water that mimics the carbohydrate content of nectar. Feeders can be purchased at any wild-bird center and hung near your window for close up views of the birds. Make sure you select a feeder that is easy to open and clean. Bacteria and fungi grow quickly in them, especially if placed in the sun. Once a week, or more frequently in warm weather, disassemble and clean your feeder thoroughly in hot water with mild dish soap. Scrub the pieces with a clean brush, rinse in cold water, and air-dry before refilling. 

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology provides a recipe for making your own hummingbird feeder solution. Use ¼ cup of granulated cane sugar per cup of unsoftened, hot, and non-distilled water. In cold rainy weather you can make it a bit stronger if you like with up to 1/3 cup of sugar per cup of water. While some people boil their sugar water solution, that is not necessary if your drinking water is safe and your feeder is kept clean. Never use food coloring in the solution.

Feed them protein and fat

Although we tend to think of hummingbirds as mostly nectar eaters, that isn’t close to the truth. According to Doug Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware and national proponent of incorporating native plants in residential landscapes, only 20 percent of a hummingbird’s diet is nectar while 80 percent is composed of insects and spiders. Cornell’s “Birds of the World” reports that rough estimates from fecal samples indicate a large percentage of insects in the birds’ diet, perhaps as high as 50-60 percent. Whatever figure further study indicates, it’s clear that only biologically diverse ecosystems that have incorporated a range of native plants and native trees can produce enough insects and spiders to feed any species of birds consistently and well. This is because native plants and trees co-evolved with specific insects, so they are entirely interdependent upon one another.

An adequate supply of insects, particularly caterpillars that birds use to feed their young, is simply necessary to attract and keep hummingbirds. Spiders, flies, aphids, caterpillars, and gnats are all common sources of protein and fat in a ruby-throated hummingbird’s diet. Dr. Tallamy believes that hummingbirds are actually insectivores who happen to eat nectar. If your yard is bereft of native plants and trees, hummingbirds can’t stay there, especially when you consider that they build their nests using spider silk to bind and hold the construction materials together. Such a landscape can neither feed them nor help them to successfully breed. It also follows that you must not spray your yard with insecticides, since chemicals intended to kill ticks or adult mosquitoes will kill all the other insects as well.

Know when to expect them next year

If you are able to attract hummingbirds this year, remember to put out your clean feeder once again in mid-April to welcome them back. There is evidence that they have strong “site fidelity,” meaning they tend to return to their favorite feeding and breeding sites year after year, a remarkable feat for such small and graceful creatures.

For more details, see the Plant NOVA Natives website, the Wildlife Sanctuary Program's website, and Cornell’s All About Birds. 

Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Pollinators

Photo: Sweat Bee with pollen, Judy Gallagher

Judy Gallagher

Pollinators are important to our daily lives. Without insects, around 80 percent of flowering plants would not be pollinated. Depending on the country, flowering plants make up 50 to 90 percent of people’s diets. Without food from flowering plants, many humans would likely starve. Obviously, we should support pollinators however we can. 

Sweat Bee with pollen, Judy Gallagher

What does it take to provide a positive environment for insect pollinators? If you want to attract a specific insect, it's important to know its natural history. Is the insect attracted to flowers of a particular color or shape? Does the larval stage require a specific plant? For instance, Monarch butterflies require Milkweed for their larvae, but they can get nectar from many other flowers including Joe-Pye Weed, Black-eyed Susan, Narrow-leaved Mountain Mint, New York Ironweed and shrubs like Buttonbush. And while they're dining on nectar, they may be picking up pollen that will be transferred to another flower. Long tubular flowers attract insects with long tongues or proboscises, like Sphinx Moths. Native plants attract native insects. 

Flowering plants can grow in both shady and sunny locations, but what kind of environment does your pollinator want? Some, like butterflies, like to bask in the sun and some of their favorite wildflowers grow best in full or partial sun with some protection from the wind. 

The insect's first concern is finding a food supply. Having different flower sizes, shapes and colors, and varying plant heights and growth habits helps support a great number and diversity of pollinators. You'll have a larger pollinator population if you have a lot of flowers. And pollinators like to eat throughout the season, so you should try to have flowers that bloom at different times so that you have nectar and pollen from spring through fall. 

Insect pollinators also need shelter and a place to nest. Insects that overwinter stay in protected places under soil, inside rotting logs, inside plant galls, in leaf litter and under rocks. Having leaf litter, woody debris and dead flower stems and stalks in your habitat helps them survive during cold weather. 

Nesting requirements vary by species. Many ground nesting bees like bare, undisturbed patches of soil, preferably close to food plants. Some bees partition their nests with mud, so it helps to have a water source in or near your habitat. Other pollinators lay eggs on plants, in rotten wood, in crevices, or in hollow stems. If your habitat is diverse, you'll support more species. 

Our Wildlife Sanctuary program can help you create a vibrant natural environment. More information is available here. You can request a visit by a Wildlife Sanctuary Ambassador, who will advise you on habitat. 

Many pesticides, especially insecticides, but also fungicides and herbicides, are harmful to pollinators. Sometimes the pollinators are killed by pesticides, but even sub-lethal doses can affect their ability to navigate, and can compound the effects of other environmental threats. It is important that you don't buy plants that have been treated with pesticides. 

Finally, we all need to spread the word about protecting pollinators. Our voices are necessary in discussions on agricultural policy, land use and conservation.

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Catch up on past Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac articles here.

Plant Native Vines for Hummingbirds and Beauty

Photo: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, David Shipper/Audubon Photography Awards

Plant NoVA Natives

Native vines can be terrific additions to your landscape. The most popular one, Coral Honeysuckle, is a hummingbird magnet!

Unlike the non-native invasive vines that we see everywhere killing trees, our native vines seldom hurt them. They co-evolved with our trees and are important members of the ecosystem, attracting numerous and diverse populations of pollinators with their plentiful nectar, feeding many birds from late summer into the winter with their fruit, and hosting the caterpillar larvae of several butterflies and moths.

Their flowers are long-blooming, showy, profuse, and often fragrant and remarkably complex. It is their nature to reach for a climbing surface and grow upon it rapidly, which puts their flowering and foliage beauty on full and glorious display.

Native vines grow well in average soil and in dry or moist conditions and are generally easy to cultivate. Some can be a nuisance due to their exuberant growth, but they all can be trained to climb walls, arches, fences, arbors, or trellises, or pruned or sheared for containment. Once trained, they add coverage, privacy, and striking beauty to any space.

Here are five native vines you can plant and enjoy for years to come.

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)
Coral Honeysuckle, whose botanical name refers to its evergreen habit, is the hands-down favorite of the native vines for garden spaces and is the official wildflower of Fairfax County. It blooms profusely in the spring, and then continues to bloom all the way up to November. The hummingbirds in your neighborhood will visit it repeatedly throughout the day.

Crossvine (Bignonia capreolata)
Crossvine is semi-evergreen with stunning abundant blooms and claws at the end of its tendrils allowing it to cling to stone, brick, pergolas, and fences without support. Its green leaves turn purple in the fall. Hummingbirds also visit this plant during its May bloom time.

Virgin’s Bower (Clematis virginiana) 
Virgin’s Bower is a fast grower and late bloomer with flowers turning to showy sprays of silky seeds in late summer. It climbs via twisted stems so needs something to wrap itself around to grow, such as shrubs, trees, a fence or a trellis. Be careful to distinguish this from Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis ternifolia), a highly invasive plant that is sold in conventional garden centers.

Yellow Passionflower (Passiflora lutea)
Yellow Passionflower has interesting leaves and delicate, fragrant flowers that bloom in mid-summer. It is considered easy to control, train, and contain.

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
While it is primarily prized in the landscape for its brilliant red-burgundy fall foliage, Virgina Creeper is a generous provider of abundant food for hundreds of insects, birds, and other animals and a meaningful addition to the landscape.

Some native vines are a little too exuberant for most people’s gardens but are great additions to more naturalized areas. Purple Passionflower, Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), for example, is a beautiful nuisance when it pops up everywhere. The name Maypop comes from the loud “pop” the fruit makes when crushed. Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) is another example. Its flowers are flamboyant and a magnet for hummingbirds, but it is a famously vigorous grower that scrambles over anything it can reach, with aerial rootlets that will damage any wood, brick or stone it touches. It is also considered a nuisance.

Finally, there is one notable vine that is native in Virginia but not Northern Virginia -- American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens). Widely sold in conventional garden centers, it has become the substitute for the highly invasive Asian wisterias which are wreaking havoc on our ecosystem, smothering trees and tearing them limb from limb.

For more information on all of these native vines, you can visit the Plant NoVA Natives vine page or visit our native plant guide.

Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Water in Your Home Habitat

Photo: Gray Catbird, Steven Biegler/Audubon Photography Awards

Alyssa Ford Morel

Hot and humid have long been a hallmark for Virginia’s summer months. With the inexorable progress of climate change, our weather gets hotter, and, frankly, wackier. We used to be able to count on regular rain that would perk up plants and cool down temperatures, but now the storms are more sporadic and dramatic. We’ve had “heat domes” and “flash droughts.” The impact on landscapes and the creatures with whom we share our environment can be devastating.

When the rain doesn’t fall and temperatures are high, the living members of our environment react. Plants open their stomata (tiny openings in their stems and leaves) to increase transpiration and cool down. But when there is no moisture for their roots to take in, they close their stoma, and leaf temperatures rise. If the heat and drought continue, plants die. 

One way to help plants thrive during stressful periods is to start with optimal conditions. Nature has designed plants to drop leaves, which then decompose, providing a rich organic layer that holds moisture and insulates roots from changing temperatures. That organic layer in turn is home to many small creatures that create the web of local biodiversity. “Leave the leaves” is a practice reflecting a modern understanding of how nature works. 

Rain garden, USEPA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

There are several ways to “harvest” the rain that falls on our property and stretch out its usefulness. Rain barrels and cisterns collect and hold water for later use. Simple systems rely on gravity to distribute the water via hoses or watering cans, but more complex systems use pumps. Rain gardens are specially designed depressions that collect excess water, using permeable soil and native plants to recharge the ground water and avoid mosquito breeding. 

During the ever more frequent gaps between rain events, there are also ways to be more conscientious when watering conventionally. We reap long-term benefits by placing plants with similar water needs together. Grouping moisture-loving plants together, particularly in an area that tends to be moist, means supplemental water will go further and not be wasted. The time of day during which we water also makes a difference, with early morning being the best time since plants can absorb the water and be ready for a hot day, as well as avoiding the moisture-loving funguses and mildews that establish in the damp overnight. Watering less frequently but more deeply is also best practice. Water that penetrates deeply will encourage deeper roots on plants. The further under the ground-layer water goes, the less likely it is to evaporate in the heat of the sun. 

Even established trees are not immune to the challenge of heat and drought. They may not show the stress quickly, but can become weakened by the ordeal. A slow drip for a few hours on a venerable tree can keep it viable for the years to come.

Wildlife also will benefit from supplemental water. Birds use water to lower their body temperature, either by swimming or bathing, and of course, they drink water to stay hydrated. Birdbaths and fountains can be extremely popular and are sometimes life savers in hot weather. 

Depending on birdbath placement, various mammals, amphibians, even reptiles and insects may also visit. It is important that bird baths be kept clean and the water changed regularly to avoid disease transmission and mosquito breeding. 

Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Fireflies

Photo: Common Eastern Firefly, Judy Gallagher

Cliff Fairweather, Judy Gallagher, and Betsy Martin

Is there a more magical sight than fireflies flashing on a June evening? Who can forget the childhood delight of catching fireflies, cupped gently in hands to peek at the flash close up? It’s no wonder the collective noun for fireflies is a “sparkle.” Read on to learn more about our local fireflies and how to attract them to your yard.

If fireflies are flashing, you can be sure mating is going on, because flashing is all about signaling potential mates. Males often make elaborate flash displays in flight, while receptive females make simpler response flashes from the ground or a low perch.

Photuris species, the femme fatales of fireflies, Judy Gallagher

Some fireflies are deceivers, though, and their flashing is not about mating at all. Adult females of the genus Photuris eat the males of other species, which they lure and capture by imitating the flash pattern of receptive females of that species. These femme fatales obtain a defensive chemical from their victims, a steroid called lucibufagins, that makes the Photuris females and their offspring distasteful.

Fireflies or, if you prefer, lightning bugs, are neither flies nor bugs -- they are beetles in the family Lampyridae. Most are bioluminescent, meaning they produce light in special organs (called lanterns) that use chemical energy to produce light in a process that is nearly 100% efficient, as compared to the 10% or less efficiency of an incandescent light bulb. Not all species produce light in their adult stage, and these darkflies are active in daytime.

According to the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, about 20 firefly species are found in Northern Virginia. Adults of three common genera in our region (Photinus, Photuris, and Pyractomena) are distinguishable by the color and timing of their lights: yellowish flashes earlier in the evening for Photinus, greenish for Photuris, and deep yellow to orange later in the evening for Pyractomena. 

Pyractomena species firefly larva, Judy Gallagher

All firefly larvae are bioluminescent, but they cannot control their light to create distinct flash patterns like adults. You might see their intermittent glow on the ground in spring or fall. Some firefly pupae and eggs also glow.

Fireflies spend most of their lives in the larval stage, during which they hunt and consume soft-bodied invertebrates, such as earthworms, snails, and slugs. They pupate underground, in rotting logs, or sometimes in the furrows of tree bark, where they spend the winter, emerging the following spring or summer.

Fireflies are more numerous in undisturbed habitats, but by paying attention to their habitat needs, you may bring them to your yard, even in an urban setting. 

Most fireflies prefer moist habitats, such as wet meadows and other wetlands, stream sides, and pond edges. Let native vegetation grow up along ponds and creeks to provide cover. Leave areas of leaf litter, rotting logs, and undisturbed soil on your property to provide shelter for all life stages of fireflies: eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults – and for their invertebrate prey. By planting a diversity of native plant species and layers (from low growing herbaceous plants to trees), you will provide sites for courtship, mating, egg laying, hunting, and pupation, and preserve soil moisture, which is essential for fireflies.

Avoid using pesticides, and avoid fertilizers, especially those containing ammonia, which kill the slugs, snails, and worms that firefly larvae eat. Avoid using tree bands to trap pest insects on trees with deeply furrowed bark favored by fireflies (such as oaks and hickories), as these can also trap fireflies.

Fireflies need darkness so their flashes can be seen by potential mates. Outdoor lighting can significantly interfere with firefly courtship. Turn off the lights when possible, and consider following the International Dark Skies Association Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting.

And your kids and grandkids may delight in the old pleasure of collecting fireflies in a jar—just be sure to let them go right away so they can get on with making new fireflies!

Fireflies are one of several dozen Sanctuary Species at the heart of the Wildlife Sanctuary program. Learn more about the habitat needs of fireflies and other Sanctuary Species here. If you create habitat that brings 10 Sanctuary Species to your yard, your property can be certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary. Our motto is, “Let the critters decide.” 

Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac: Create a Mini-meadow

Photo: Mini-meadow, Margaret Fisher

Margaret Fisher and Eileen Ellsworth

Springtime is for planting! If you’re looking for ideas for a sunny spot, think about creating a mini-meadow to bring pollinators to your yard. If you’re not sure what to plant, request a free visit from an Audubon at Home Ambassador, who can advise you. 

When they aren’t being bulldozed over, the natural state of most meadows in northern Virginia is gradually to revert to forest, but that fact does not lessen their importance to the ecosystem. Although there are many threats to our woods, it is the meadows that are disappearing the fastest, which is a big problem for birds and other critters that depend on sizable meadows for habitat. When was the last time you saw a meadowlark or a quail, for example? So, if you own land with a natural meadow, you do a great service by preventing it from reforesting or from being developed.

Of course, most of us don’t have natural meadows on our properties, but we, too, can help repair some of the damage by adding meadow plant species to our yards. In most cases, that translates to creating pollinator gardens that can serve as mini-meadows or small-scale meadow analogs that attract hummingbirds, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. Even relatively small spaces can foster meadow habitats, especially because much of the ecological value of a meadow comes from common, easy to find, easy to grow species.

Start with just two or three sturdy and meadow-loving natives that produce beautiful flowers and attract pollinators as well, such as Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa or Solidago caesia), Mountain mint (Pycnanthemum tenuifolium), and Hollow Joe-pye-weed (Eutrochium fistulosum). Plants like to grow in communities near other plants. It’s a good idea to put three to five of them together, an arrangement that mimics the way plants grow naturally in meadows. You can always increase the types and number of native flowering plants in your mini-meadow, expanding it over time as your space and interest allows. See the lovely example below of the front yard where half of the yard was planned as a mini-meadow with a mix of grasses and herbaceous plants blooming in succession throughout the growing season.

South Arlington front yard, Alyssa Morel

Butterflies on Rudbeckia fulgida, Betsy Martin

Pollinator turnout on flowering natives is high. Dozens if not hundreds of hummingbirds, bumblebees, flies, beetles, and hummingbird moths, along with many other kinds of pollinators, will show up. The more varied your mini-meadow offerings, the more diverse the pollinator population it will attract. It is sure to delight and amaze you, especially when compared to the dearth of pollinator activity on non-native landscapes. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing more insect-eating birds such as warblers, Eastern Phoebes, and Eastern Wood-Pewees. They will certainly notice and take advantage of the opportunity you provide.

When planning your mini-meadow, don’t forget grasses. Somewhere between 40% and 70% of meadow plant species are some sort of grass, a term used here to include sedges, rushes, and grasses. All grasses are wind pollinated, so you won’t see the same level of pollinator interaction as with the native flowers listed above. But grasses are nevertheless essential to the wildlife of a healthy meadow. Their dense roots, which you will only fully appreciate the first time you try to dig up a native grass plant and move it, help stabilize the soil, prevent erosion, corral assertive native flower species, and tamp down weeds. Birds use grasses for nesting materials, Monarch butterfly larva can use grass stems for cocooning, and grasses are host plants for skipper butterflies. The list goes on. They provide support and protection for many birds, insects, and other small meadow critters living in, on, or close to the ground.

You can find out more about garden-worthy grasses on the Plant NOVA Natives website. Good bets for your mini-meadow include Broomsedge, Eastern narrow-leaved sedge, and Little Bluestem. If you really want a sunny meadow as opposed to just a flower garden, the best approach is to establish the matrix of grasses first and add in flowers later. Native species can be found from several seed sources - they are less expensive when purchased in bulk - for when you are starting with bare soil. Otherwise, buying trays of small plugs is cost-effective.

An added benefit of meadows in general and grasses in particular is the winter interest they bring to your yard. To support the entire life cycle of the critters that depend on them, don’t mulch beyond the first year. Leave the plants standing all winter, and enjoy the interesting stalks and seed heads. The next year’s plants will poke up through the dead leaves and stalks without difficulty. Minimizing outdoor lighting allows for the nocturnal activities by moths and others that are essential to the ecosystem. And of course, spraying for ticks and mosquitoes in your yard should be strictly avoided, as it will kill the little neighbors that you invited in. 

You won’t have to go far to find native meadow flowers and grasses for sale. Many sellers are close to where you live. Northern Virginia is fortunate to have several native only garden centers. In addition, one-day native plant sales are held across the region in the spring and fall. Also, conventional garden centers now supply more native plant options than ever given the growing consumer demand. 

No matter how modest or ambitious your plans may be, taking the first step to build a mini-meadow habitat is what matters. Your new native plantings will expand meadow-like habitats, increase meadow-loving life, and ultimately improve the biodiversity of the region.

Moon gardens: A quiet oasis for pollinators working the night shift

Photo: Woodland Phlox, David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Deidra Bryant

Spring is on its way, and like many of us you’re probably getting ready to prep your garden for flowers and veggies. When planting, most people take into consideration how plants will look in the daytime, but have you ever heard of moon gardens? They’re gardens best enjoyed from dusk to dark and are best appreciated at the end of a hot day, when the nicest time to sit outside is during the evening. If you spend your time at work in the daytime, these enchanting gardens can be quite lovely and relaxing to walk around in when you come home in the evening. 

Moon gardens generally include white flowers and silvery foliage that glow in the moonlight, fragrant plants that add to the sensory experience, and grasses that bring pleasant sounds when rustling in the evening breeze. A trickling fountain is also a good idea if you want to provide a wonderful auditory and visual experience with the moonlight reflecting on the water’s surface. The best part is that these gardens not only help you relax when the moon is out, but also attract night pollinators like bats and moths, both highly successful pollinators. Here’s how to get started, along with a list of a few plant species that benefit both daytime and nighttime pollinators. 

A moon garden does not have to be very large. It just needs to be in an area where people congregate and can enjoy the ghostly white and shimmery silver-colored blossoms and plants. You’ll also need to research the amount of sunlight and soil types for the area selected for the moon garden. Though the moon garden’s true beauty will be on display in the evening, night blooming plants still need some amount of sunlight and proper soil conditions. 

May Breeze Woodland Phlox, David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sweetbay Magnolia, (c)2008 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man). Co-attribution must be given to the Chanticleer Garden., CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Choosing native plants for your moon garden is an invitation to see a different side of a flower’s beauty, as flowers that display in vibrant pale shades take on a new personality when viewed under moonlight. Your moon garden should have native plants with flowers that are shades of white, cream, silver, pale pink, and pale lavender. Examples include Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana), May breeze woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata), Fleabane (Erigeron annuus), Evening primrose, Pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides), Common elderberry (Sambuca canadensis), White sagebrush (Artemisia ludoviciana), and Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). When planting, place flowers with the same shade of white in the same area. If you put two different shades together, one will appear dull compared to the other, making the garden less visually striking. Pale, decorative native grasses also can be lovely. Ideally, these grasses will be silver in color all year long, rather than evergreen. Sugarcane plumegrass (Saccharum giganteum) and Bushy bluestem (Andropogon glomeratus) are good examples, because their silvery color will gently shimmer in the pale moonlight. 

Bats and moths are just as effective pollinators as birds and bees. Bats help control mosquitoes, as well as harmful beetles and other pests, and can carry a significant amount of pollen on their face and fur. Moths also work the night shift by collecting pollen on their legs. Mothing (viewing moths attracted with a draped white sheet and a light source) also can be a fun outdoor activity in the spring and summer, especially in your newly designed moon garden! So, help all your local pollinators out this year and create your own peaceful garden to enjoy at night.

Attracting Pollinators to Upton Hill Park

Photo: Pollinator Garden, Musa Murawih

Musa Murawih

Starting in 2020, I worked with volunteers to move some of the native plant bounty from my yard into Upton Hill Regional Park, in Arlington. What started as an isolated project has evolved into one element of a larger ASNV program, Stretch Our Parks. The program brings ASNV together with parks, partners, volunteers, and the communities surrounding the parks to increase valuable native habitat. But let’s back up and review how I got here.

My first memory of connecting with birds was when I was 6 years old. My brother and I were walking among sunt trees (Prickly Acacia, Vachellia nilotica) on the edge of the Diwaimi wadi in the desert of North Kordofan, Sudan. A male of what was likely a Nile Valley Sunbird was feeding on nectar of the abundant yellow flowers, jumping from branch to branch as it sang. It flashed its wings and long tail feathers showing the stunning yellow, green, blue, and other iridescent colors. I was immediately enchanted. When my dad came back from work, I told him I wanted a shirt as pretty as the sunbird! 

Birds enchant us for many reasons. It is not just their central role in supporting life on this planet. They are the very embodiment of some of the ideals we cherish most: beauty and freedom. 

The sunt trees in the valley were sort of our backyard. I say that only figuratively because our home was a wool tent, and we only stayed there for the summer season, before moving to higher grounds in anticipation of the rain. The birds, the animals, and my community all shared the trees. Our tent was pitched under a group of them for extra shade. Their gum was our candy. We used their fruits to heal ailments or tan animal skins. For us to survive, they needed to survive. 

Many years and places have passed since that childhood memory. My home is no longer North Kordofan, but northern Virginia. My camel is a Subaru Forester. The wool tent is a home in suburbia. Yet the basics remain: regardless of where we reside and what passport we carry, we need to share this planet with other creatures, and trees and other plants are front and center in this resource-sharing equation.

The author planting his pollinator garden, Houda Karrar

That is why ASNV, on whose Board I sit, is currently embarking on an exciting endeavor that is close to my heart. The Stretch Our Parks collaborative project is intended to link some of the existing area parks with the neighborhoods and backyards around them. Audubon is working with management, stewards, and neighbors of those parks to improve habitat so that birds and wildlife can also find refuge in our neighborhoods. As an immigrant who came to America seeking refuge, I can certainly relate.

We can all help in this effort, and no help is too small. We can hang a bird feeder in our property or put a birdbath in the yard. We can stop using harmful pesticides on our lawns. We can remove invasives at our homes. We can choose to plant a native tree next time we want to plant one. 

My pollinator garden, Musa Murawih

On my end, I removed a three-foot wide strip of lawn along the wall of my townhouse and replaced it with a native pollinator garden. The project was so successful that I did not know what to do with my excess flowers. Then, as I was teaming up with other volunteers to remove invasives at Upton Hill Regional Park, I had a small eureka moment: why don’t I transplant some of my flowers to Upton Hill? So I did. With the help of Upton Hill’s manager Evan McGurrin, Park Steward Jill Barker, my fellow ASNV Board member Joan Haffey, and a team of park volunteers, we cleared three small areas where I began to transplant flowers starting in the fall of 2020. 

Cleared area for plantings at Upton Hill Regional Park, Musa Murawih

The beds are now in their third season. My goal is to make these pollinator gardens self-sustaining, and I am hopeful they will be in the next couple of seasons. 

The Stretch Our Parks work shows how important it is to see habitat and wildlife as one thing. When I think back about that sunbird childhood memory today, I don’t only see the sunbirds; I also see the row of sunt trees, the habitat that fed and supported them.

The author with Showy Goldenrod in its second season, Jill Barker