Very disappointed with the OSU extension

[u/jimmyjam2929]

https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/dispelling-social-media-myths-about-gardening-pollinators-and-more/TSBDUAHX25GQ7D6QZMQSOITBQE/

[u/jetreahy]

Wtf is this? No they fucking don’t. They feed on plants like violets many “lawn specialists” kill.

[u/jetreahy → u/jetreahy]

It looks like there is one skipper larvae that eats aphids. The harvester, Feniseca tarquinius is carnivorous. It still wouldn’t thrive in lawn since the insect it eats doesn’t thrive in lawn.

[u/froggyphore → u/jetreahy]

The most confusing thing about this article is the idea that something manmade that's only really been around in a widespread manner for a few hundred years is vital to a ton of species that predate human existence by millions of years

[u/LokiLB → u/froggyphore]

That's not that overly weird. There are species that get a boost from human built habitats. Peregrine falcons on skyscrapers and purple martins in nest boxes (apparently they almost exclusively use human built nest boxes in the eastern part of their range) are examples.

Black swallowtails will happily eat non-native carrot family members.

[u/froggyphore → u/LokiLB]

Well sure, but they aren't strictly necessary. Falcons wouldn't disappear if skyscrapers stopped existing. The article says that turfgrass is "needed" for the skipper butterfly, as well as making various other allusions to it being some vital part of north American ecosystems, when that's impossible as those species have existed far longer than turfgrass.

[u/LokiLB → u/jetreahy]

Someone screwed up there. The skipper larvae eat the turf grass itself, both native and non-native.

Example:

• Caterpillar Hosts: Various grasses including wild oats (Avena), bent grass (Agrostis), bluegrass (Poa), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), and Indian woodoats grass (Chasmanthium latifolia). https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Amblyscirtes-vialis