The Importance of Butterflies
What is the importance of butterflies and what do a pollinators do?
Butterflies are important pollinators in our gardens. A pollinator transfers pollen from a male plant part to a female plant part on the same or different plant. When a butterfly visits a plant to get nectar, pollen gets stuck to part of the butterfly’s body. As the butterfly goes to another part of the plant or to a different plant, the pollen comes off the butterfly to a different flower or part of the flower and helps the flower reproduce.
are butterflies populations declining?
Sadly, the population of butterflies is decreasing due to habitat loss and other environmental reasons. Butterflies are very important to help with the pollination, and without them natural pollination would be left to only hummingbirds, bees, and flies. Having plants for the butterflies helps give them a habitat and a way to pollinate plants in your area. If everyone had a garden for pollinators the populations would start to increase again and an abundance of butterflies would be seen again
What happens without pollinators?
Without pollinators it would be very difficult to get any food. At the start of the food chain everything eats some type of plants. Without pollinators the plants would not reproduce and animals would not survive because they would not have a food source. Even in my garden at home I have noticed a difference in the number of pollinators. This year I had to hand pollinate my zucchini plants and all of my corn crops. With the decreasing number of butterflies my garden suffered because of it. Next season I should be able to see an increased number of butterflies in the area and pollinating my plants because of the butterfly garden I created.
Consider replacing some of your decorative plants with plants that butterflies enjoy at every stage of life. Many people only think about adult butterflies getting nectar and not about providing a home for eggs or larvae, which is mostly leafy green foliage that they can eat.
Learn more about the importance of butterflies and pollinators
Here are some great website to learn more about the declining populations of butterflies
- http://blogs.edf.org/growingreturns/2020/03/18/eastern-monarch-butterfly-population-down-53-percent/#:~:text=The%20monarch%20butterfly%20population%20has,and%20extreme%20and%20variable%20weather.
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/12/monarch-butterflies-near-extinction/#:~:text=Environmental%20degradation%20and%20increased%20use,way%20to%20help%20save%20monarchs.
- https://www.monarch-butterfly.com/vanishing-monarch-butterflies.html
- https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/07/us/monarch-butterflies-decline-trnd/index.html
Here are some good websites to learn more about the importance of butterflies and pollinators
- https://www.pollinator.org/pollination
- https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/animals/butterflies.shtml
- http://archive.naplesnews.com/lifestyle/home/wings-at-work-butterflies-pollinate-plants-but-in-ways-different-from-all-others-ep-394968174-339851142.html
- https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/What_is_Pollination/#:~:text=Pollination
My Goals
My goals are to encourage more people to make butterfly gardens and to help the declining population of butterflies and other pollinators. I would love to see more butterfly gardens in North Texas.
