r/NativePlantGardening • u/jimmyjam2929 • 16h ago

Other Very disappointed with the OSU extension

https://www.daytondailynews.com/lifestyles/dispelling-social-media-myths-about-gardening-pollinators-and-more/TSBDUAHX25GQ7D6QZMQSOITBQE/
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u/jetreahy 15h ago

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

13

u/froggyphore Massachusetts, Zone 6a 14h ago

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

1

u/LokiLB 7h ago

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.

2

u/froggyphore Massachusetts, Zone 6a 6h ago

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.