Friday, August 4, 2023

Long-tailed Skippers appeared this week


I don't know where they come from, whether they just hatched from cocoons or whether they've been living somewhere else.  They show up every year about this time. They like this dwarf firebush, also porteranthus. They seem to prefer full sun.
 

We have one plant of this non-native, dwarf firebush that we grow at a distance from our native Hamelia patens. I love the native; its presence guarantees an abundance of zebra longwings, my favorite butterfly. other butterflies and hummingbirds also frequent it. I worry about cross-pollination diluting the genetic purity of the native species. Wow, I sound like a Nazi! The problem is that our native species has coevolved with our native insects, including butterflies, over time. They work together. I haven't done scientific studies, hey I'm a gardener, but it seems apparent to me that the native pollinators greatly prefer the native species to the non-native. I've seen hybrids both in my garden, which I remove, and in nurseries. Indeed, some native plant nurseries sell the non-natives. Furthermore, they all, including the hybrids, produce red fruit. Birds eat them and distribute seeds. One of the red flags for an invasive plant.

I greatly fear the ship has sailed on this one. Still, it seems wrong for me to grow this plant. It's hard to rip it out when it does attract bees and butterflies.



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