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Frill Free Zone Newsletter April 01, 2024 |
One thing I've wanted to build in my new garden is a place for butterflies to lay their eggs and the caterpillars to thrive. This takes a bit of thought, it's not just planting pretty flowers. You need somewhere for the larvae to grow, which means eating your plants. April 1 2024People are so funny! They plant the gorgeous flowering plants, and give them fertilizer and keep the bugs off. Wait, back up a bit! Those bugs are the gorgeous butterflies that you're trying to attract. The bugs are the caterpillars that turn into the butterflies. So, go one step further, and provide a butterfly garden especially geared to those hungry caterpillars. Do some research; those gorgeous Monarchs that you want to attract have only one food source in the caterpillar stage; Asclepias, which translates to Milkweed or butterfly weed. Get used to the idea that these will be damaged as the larvae munch on them.Monarchs are now on the endangered list, so we all need to do our part. Please don't mess with the larvae as they go to pupate. They don't need our help. There is some thought among scientists that the more we mess with a species, the less well they do, either because we've altered something specific in their environment, or we've save the weaklings that might otherwise have been culled. Think about every aspect of the things we do, they may not necessarily be the right thing. You can find Frill Free on Facebook .
If you would like me to answer your questions about homesteading or other topics you're interested in, reply to this email, use the contact form, or fill out the survey on the bottom of every page of the website. Visit the Homesteading Blog for all new and updated pages. 
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