Gardening for Insects

May 22nd is International Day for Biological Diversity

As a scientist who studies moths, butterflies, and bees, one of my favorite types of biodiversity is insect biodiversity. I am especially fascinated by the myriad interactions between insects and plants. Insects and plants are some of the most crucial building blocks of our ecosystems– most things rely on plants, insects, and their interactions for something. Unfortunately, many human activities are causing declines in biodiversity, including insect biodiversity. Fortunately, insects provide us with one of the easiest ways to conserve biodiversity in our backyards!

The Sanctuary Pollinator Garden is planted with large, flashy flowers to attract a variety of native butterflies, flower-flies, and bees.

Picky eaters show us the way…

Gardening for insects is a great place to start if you are interested in conserving biodiversity. Not only are insects and the plants that they eat crucial to the functioning of healthy ecosystems, but insects’ specialized diets help us to design our gardens in a way that attracts a variety of species. For example, more and more gardeners are planting milkweed plants in their gardens because they know it is the only food plant for the iconic but declining monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). Not all insects are as picky with their food choices as monarchs, but many are! Ecologists call this dietary specialization. Why are some insects picky eaters? The answer comes from co-evolution: insects like monarchs have evolved to overcome the defenses of their preferred food plants, like the toxins and latex in milkweed. We can use information about insects’ favorite foods, also known as host plants, to design gardens that attract a variety of insects. In time, a garden that supports a variety of plant-eating insects will attract helpful predatory insects, birds, and more!

Author Alice Dykstra holding a fritillary butterfly. Planting their host plant, violets, in your yard may attract these butterflies to your garden.

Planting the seed

Do you have a favorite native butterfly that you are hoping to attract to your garden, perhaps the Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele)? Planting its preferred native host plants, violets in the case of the fritillary, would be a great place to start!  As you add native plants for insects to your garden, the following resources may help you: 

• Visit or volunteer in the Sanctuary’s native garden. 
• Homegrown National Park: join a network of gardeners adding biodiversity back into their backyards
• Kalamazoo Wild Ones: check out this organization if you are local to the Kalamazoo area for resources, support, and community in gardening with native plants
• Join us for the KBS Bioblitz on June 15! Participants will contribute to Dr. Alisha Shah’s research on climate change and insect biodiversity by documenting the biodiversity present at the Sanctuary. Learn more and register here. 

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Alice Dykstra is a doctoral candidate in the Haddad Lab at the Kellogg Biological Station and a Science Education and Outreach fellow for the 2023-2024 academic year.