BUTTERFLY/MOTH FACTS

I thought you may want to know more about butterflies and moths that visit your landscapes. The following are some butterfly and/or moth facts:

{ They both belong to the Lepidoptera (Scale winged) family

{ There are 20,000 different butterfly families and more than 240,000 moth families. Most live in the tropical rainforest

{ Both have a complete or 4-stage metamorphosis (when they move through a life stage change they look different than when they become an adult)

{ Adults have sucking mouth parts

{ They have compound eyes (hundreds of lenses that each focuses on a small area of the surrounding environment)

{ The proboscis is a long, straw-like tube that unrolls from the head when the butterfly’s feet land on the flower surface to eat or that sits on water for drinking

{ The antennae extend out of the front side of the head between the eyes. The insect uses these as a nose, for mating and for balancing while flying

{ In the immature or larval stage, they have chewing mouth parts (they do not bite, but hairs on some may sting)

{ They have six segmented legs

{ They have four wings which are composed of two membrane layers supported by tubular veins and covered by thousands of colorful scales (moth’s are thicker, making them look furry)

{ Colors are for attracting mates (males are usually brighter), warning predators or providing camouflage. Birds, bats, spiders, dragonflies, praying mantis, and mice love to eat butterflies and moths

{ The bright yellow and black, orange, or red colors tell other predators that they may bite, sting or taste bad. Their colors look like colors on less edible species

{ Butterflies usually lay one egg at a time on the specific host plant leaves and/or stems (coating them with an adhesive that fastens them to the leaf) – they hatch about five days later

{ Eggs from different butterflies have their own unique shape and color

{ At hatching, caterpillars eat their egg shell and then eat lots and lots of leaves from the host plant

{ After weeks of eating and growing, the caterpillar leaves the host plant and searches for a hiding place (bush, tall grass, piles of leaves or sticks, under siding on homes)

{ Inside the chrysalis, the larva changes into a butterfly – which takes only a few weeks

{ After the adult butterfly emerges, it looks for another butterfly to mate with

{ After mating, the female lays her eggs

{ Adult butterflies only live for about two weeks

{ When cold weather arrives some butterflies migrate to warmer areas (the Monarch migrates to only 12 mountaintop sites in Mexico)

I hope you find these facts as interesting as I did. And the next time you have butterflies and moths visiting your flowers, you may want to pay closer attention to these very interesting insects.

JUNE GARDENING CALENDER

For the first week of June:

• Check your bedding plants; remove old flower heads to prolong the blooming period. Also, pinch mums for bushier plants.
• Make another planting of vegetables, such as sweet corn and snap beans.
• Thin out vegetable plantings, for instance, beets and lettuce.
• Feed your roses every month until early August with ¼ cup of 10-10-10 per plant.
• A second pruning of new growth on your evergreens may be made to maintain shape and size.
• Continue your fruit tree sprays as scheduled.

For the second week of June:

• Prune spring flowering shrubs after blooming is finished.
• Spray your mimosa and honey locust for web worms. Look for small clumps of leaves tied together with silk threads scattered over the tree. Upon closer examination, the upper surface of the leaves are skeletonized. The leaves turn brown and die, which will make the tree look as if it has been scorched by a fire.
• Take care of your newly planted trees and shrubs. They should receive a thorough soaking each week. Mulch to conserve moisture.

For the third week of June:

• Control aphids and other pests on vegetables by removing, spraying or washing.
• Place cages or stakes to support growing tomato plants. Cages or trellises work well for growing cucumbers, too.
• Be careful trimming grass around young trees and shrubs when using weed eaters. The young tender bark on these plants can be broken easily, resulting in injury to the water-transporting tissue and creating openings for insects and disease to enter.

For the fourth week of June:

• Continue spraying your roses and fruit trees.
• Thin out flowers where they are growing too close together.
• Check your ornamentals for scale insects; these need to be treated, if present.
• Mid to late June is a great time to start new plants from soft wood cuttings of shrubs, such as azalea, spirea, boxwood, camellia, hydrangea, etc.
• Mow and fertilize strawberries after fruiting.

SUSSEX COUNTY WORKSHOPS

Workshops through June in the winter-spring series will be presented by Sussex Co. Master Gardeners. The workshops are free and are at the Carvel Center. Please contact Tammy Schirmer to register at 302-856-2585 ext. 544/tammys@udel.edu or register online at http://ag.udel.edu/rec/Extension/MasterGardeners/workshopreg.html. On the list are:

Master Gardener Panel – Thursday, May 12 at 1 p.m.

Accessible Gardening – Bob Williams – Thursday, June 9 at 10 a.m. in the Carvel Center and in the Demonstration Garden, weather permitting.

Hostas – Vickie Thompson – Thursday, June 16 at 7 p.m.

The County Gardener

By: Maggie L. Moor-Orth

Delaware Cooperative Extension

Delaware State University

If you are like me and don’t get around to plant your vegetable garden until May 15^th, you may want to consider trying companion planting this year.

Basically, companion planting is the practice of placing plants close to each other so that they may help each plant grow better. Gardeners who practice companion planting do this more as a tradition, but in recent years, there have been studies done on this subject. Companion plants can be grown in several ways:

1. Intercropping, which is growing companion plants to attract or repel bugs between plants or in rows neighboring plants. It is also done to make better use of soil nutrients. Some examples are:

· Planting chives or garlic between rows of peas or lettuce is thought to help control aphids.· Marigolds planted in the same row to grow between hills of cucumbers, squashes, or melons should help reduce the cucumber beetle.· The roots of the marigold also produce and give off a chemical that kills soil nematodes that attack potatoes, strawberries, roses and various bulbs.

· Nasturtiums also help control the cucumber beetle when interplanted with cucumbers.

· Peanuts planted in a neighboring row with corn or squash makes use of soil nutrients.

· Chives grown between roses should help reduce the occurrence of aphids.

· Tansy herbs planted between cabbage rows are believed to help control cabbageworms and cutworms. It is also known that growing tansy around door openings helps keep ants out of the house.

· Strips of clover or alfalfa between rows of corn make use of soil nutrients.

2. As border and barrier plants, your companion plants are grown along one or more boundaries or edges in your garden to attract, create a home and breeding space for, and to feed beneficial insects “good bugs” or to repel pests “bad bugs.” Some examples of these are:

· Prostrate rosemary planted around flowerbeds helps keep slugs and snails from causing damage to your flowers.

· Nectar-producing flowering herbs and flower plants (summer savory, nasturtiums, marigold, and basil to name a few) attract and support beneficial activities.

It is important to have a variety of plants or one variety that will bloom all growing season long to ensure a steady supply of pollen for the beneficial insects to eat.

If you would like more information on companion planting, there are many books available; for example, Carrots Love Tomatoes, Roses Love Garlic, or Sleeping with a Sunflower. All three of these are written by Louise Riotte. You may also try Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.

When you finally get into the soil and plant, don’t forget to do a drawing of your garden, complete with names of companion plants. Leave room in the margins to jot down notes on the effectiveness of the companion plants during the growing season, such as, did they attract beneficial insects or did they repel any pests? This will help you in planning next year’s garden by knowing where to move or rotate the crops.

Lastly, if this is the first time you are trying companion planting in your garden, the more information you have and learn will help you decide if you want to join the many other companion planting gardeners.

MAY GARDEN CALENDER

For the first week of May:

v Prune your spring flowering shrubs (lilacs, forsythias, spireas, etc.) after they have finished blooming. Actually, you want to thin these out by removing up to one-third of the older branches at or near ground level.

v Plant vegetables such as snap beans, tomato plants, sweet corn, summer squash, cucumbers and a second crop of radishes.

v Check your trees, especially wild cherry, for tent caterpillars. Remove and destroy tents—they look like a white cotton candy mass on branches.

For the second week of May:

v Continue your fruit tree spray schedule to control disease and pest problems.

v Keep newly planted trees and shrubs watered (unless it’s a rainy month). Do not let the soil dry out.

v Plant gladiolus, dahlias and other summer bulbs.

For the third week of May:

v Stay out of your garden when plant foliage is wet. Walking through a wet garden spreads disease from one plant to another.

v Spray roses regularly (every 10 days, using a fungicide and insecticide). Read and follow all label directions.

v Closely examine your ornamental plantings for disease and pests. Check your dogwoods for borers; boxwood, holly and birch for leaf miners; evergreens for spider mites and aphids.

For the fourth week to end of May:

v Mulch flowers, established vegetables and ever green shrubs. Grass clippings are great and easier to handle if allowed to dry first. Remember, never use clippings from a lawn that has been treated with an herbicide.

v Allow leaves on tulips and daffodils to mature; do not cut off until brown. Fill in spaces in your flower beds with annuals.

v Pinch annuals when 4-6 inches high to promote bushy growth, such as zinnias, petunias and salvia.