Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee.

When I’m selling my photos, one comment I get a lot is “Where did you take these? You never see them anymore”. What are they talking about? Butterflies!! It’s certainly true that these winged wonders have become less common in recent years but there are still quite a lot of them flying about if you know where to look.

Part of the problem is obviously down to the lack of meadows nowadays as more and more fields tend to be bought up for industrial or residential building work. Now that we’re in a recession and most building projects have stopped with little hope that they will start any time soon, it will be interesting to see if nature fights back and allows the kind of plants that insects need to grow back.

It’s not just butterflies of course. There is genuine worldwide concern over the plight of bees. The Honey Bee population in North America has declined by about 90% in the last half century and this trend has been observed in other parts of the world as well. It has been calculated that a third of all food consumed by humans is pollinated by bees. Some groups dismiss these claims, but even if they’re only partly true, this still represents an enormous amount of food that needs insect pollination in order for it to grow. Next time you have a salad sandwich ask yourself how much of what’s on your plate is there because of insect pollination. Chances are, all of it!

Fields that are concreted over and crops that are subject to heavy pesticide use won’t help bee and butterfly populations. And everybody can help. If every person in an entire suburb allowed part of their garden to grow wild and allowed the Dandelions, Clover and Daisies that should naturally grow there actually grow, then you would help with this problem enormously. By allowing part of my garden grow wild I’ve reaped the benefits and regularly have Meadow Browns, various Whites, Small Tortoiseshells, Carder Bees and many different species of Bumble Bee pop in for a sip of nectar.

The photos on this blog entry are of a Green Veined White on a Ribwort Plantain and the second is on a Cuckoo Flower. The photo of the bee is on a humble Buttercup. All three are plants that will happily grow in your garden if they are allowed. Not too much to ask then.

Until next week

www.davemcmanusphotography.com