The winter snows have melted and you may want to clean out the yard. But for insect’s sake, park the rake!

Recent research in Science magazine said that butterfly populations have decreased by 22% from 2000 to 2020. Where do many of these butterflies overwinter? In the leaves! Queen bumble bees, the luna moth, spotted
salamander, and lightning bugs also hibernate here.

You may have heard that once we have had 5 consecutive days of 50-degree weather, insects have moved on and it’s safe to rake out the gardens. This is an urban legend according to Doug Tallamy, Entomologist at Univ. of Delaware.

There are many insects that need the leaf litter until it’s their time to emerge. This may be June, July, or even August! YIKES, what is a home gardener to do?

• Select areas where you want things neat and tidy and leave the leaves in the backyard, along the woodland edges, etc.
• Find a place where you can rake leaves into the woods along the edge of your property.
• Replace bark mulch with low growing native ground-covers, herbaceous plants, and ferns. For more info visit homegrownnationalpark.org.

~ Donna Miller