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e=3D"text-decoration: underline;"></span><span sty Re. Swamp Milkweed abundant in some parts of NS While there are some large patches of swamp milkweed in some areas, it certainly is not common and is ranked S4 by Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre. Around the City, it is absent from wild areas. It comes into stillwater peatlands--fens--around Mount Uniacke, it is patchy in similar riparian fen and rarely on lakeshores in the southwest. It is common in marshes in the Musquodoboit and Stewiacke and probably in many true marshes. I don't think of it as a swamp species because it wouldn't do shade. Because it is patchy and locally abundant, it stands to reason that planting it in the vicinities in between the above areas would help to increase butterfly populations. The common milkweed does well on roadsides and dry old fields. The swamp milkweed will grow in its natural areas as well as in wet meadows that may have been hay fields. It is a good garden plant if the soils don't get too droughty (ie. would need to amend sandy soils with lots of organic). There are lots of other natives that will do for butterflies and MTRI (Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute) has been championing this. Joe Pye is a super native/garden plant and is great addition to the back of flower borders. We need lots of observations by naturalists on which plants attract which pollinators. Does anyone know any group working in the maritimes who keeps track? Nick On Fri, Jan 16, 2015 at 10:03 AM, rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca <rita.paul@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote: > Interesting Dave > One thing I always wondered if Monarchs only utilized Common Milkweed ( > Asclepias syriaca ) > or do they use Swamp Milkweed ( Asclepias pulchra ) as well? > If they use Swamp Milkweed in Nova Scotia there sure isn't any need to plant > any > as there are many acres in the center of the province. > Enjoy the January thaw? > Paul > > On January 16, 2015 at 8:45 AM David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com> > wrote: > > Dear All, > Perhaps Ian is away so I will post this for him. > Yt, DW, Kentville > ----- Original Message ----- > From: David & Alison Webster > To: Ian Manning > Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2015 6:53 PM > Subject: Re: [Aliens-L] How well-intentioned Americans trying to save > monarch butterflies may actually be destroying them > > Hi Ian, > Very Interesting. Suggest you post it to the list. The devil, as the > saying goes, is in the details. Hopefully this news will get spread so > gardeners stop planting the wrong kind. > Dave > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Ian Manning > To: David & Alison Webster > Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2015 5:01 PM > Subject: Fwd: [Aliens-L] How well-intentioned Americans trying to save > monarch butterflies may actually be destroying them > > Dear David, > > Read this today, and thought you might be interested. > > Cheers, > Ian > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Pamela Zevit Adamah Consultants <adamah@telus.net> > Date: 15 January 2015 at 16:12 > Subject: [Aliens-L] How well-intentioned Americans trying to save monarch > butterflies may actually be destroying them > To: Issg List < aliens-l@list.auckland.ac.nz> > > > Received this through the folks at Xerces Society for Invertebrate > Conservation. On southwest coastal BC the western population of Monarchs > does breed (rarely) as a transient on its way down to overwinter in > California. This is only due to the presence of milkweed grown in people’s > gardens (a plant that is not endemic in my region of BC). This is > well-intentioned but reminds me of the way in which humans have altered > hummingbird migratory pathways through feeders. We now have a species of > hummingbird (Anna’s) that overwinters here and would normally starve if it > wasn’t for feeders (and I suspect some freeze to death during prolonged cold > snaps). > > > > I have also noted that to promote pollinator conservation some community > gardens or organizations here are using Monarchs as an icon and handing out > packets of milkweed seed for people to plant locally. Rather than promoting > native species that would benefit a range of pollinators. > > > > “People love the monarch butterfly, with its beautiful orange and black > wings and its endlessly intriguing migratory journey. But some may be loving > it to death. That’s the tragic essence of a new study, which suggests the > efforts of many backyard gardeners to save the creatures may in fact be > unintentionally contributing to their endangerment.” > > http://tinyurl.com/mhcbu28 > > > > Pamela Zevit, R.P. Bio > Adamah Consultants > > Coquitlam BC Canada > 604-939-0523 > > adamah@telus.net > > Re-connecting People & Nature > > Science World - Scientists in the Schools Ambassador > > > > ________________________________ > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2014.0.4800 / Virus Database: 4257/8935 - Release Date: 01/15/15 > > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 2015.0.5577 / Virus Database: 4260/8933 - Release Date: 01/15/15 > > >
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