(Jerry notices lack of insects and birds at Butchart Gardens; postulates
generous pesticide use as the reason.)

I've don't doubt that pesticide use is a factor, but there are others.
Tidy, manicured gardens don't provide much cover or housing material for
birds or insects. No tangled brush, no rotting sticks, logs, or snags,
etc. In addition, horticultural flowers are selected for their visual
appeal to people, not their ability to attract or support pollinators.
Many have lost their odor, lack a "landing pad" for bees, lack the visual
cues that point to the center of the flower, or even have petals that
cover the nectaries and pollen. I marvel at how the small, inconspicuous
purple flowers of the weedy nightshade outside my window are a bee magnet,
while the gaudy rhodies seem to attract nothing.


Kelly Cassidy -- Washington Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
Box 357980, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195
kelly at u.washington.edu --- 206-685-4195 --- 206-368-8076