Dear Allyn,

Regarding your post:

"..There are regional plant suggestions (including non woodies) in an appendix,
with a pacific northwet section which rightly leaves out east of the cascades,
but extends too far south through northern CA..."? Allyn Weaks allyn. at tardigrade.net

Subject: "What Does Bird Food Look Like?"
From: Allyn Weaks <allyn. AT tardigrade.net>
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:35:58 -0700

Is is possible that the Northern area of California is most similar in its local plant history and plant diversity, to Western Washington?? I have found that the Garry Oak or Oregon Oak was known to extend as far south as Northern California historically -- even though today the Oak in Washington has been overtaken by the Evergreen.

You said:

"There's a nice table of genus vs number of leps that eat it for 20 trees. Of
genera we have here: oaks, (534), willows (456), cherries (456), birch (413),
poplar/cottonwood (368), crabapple (311), blueberry/cranberry (288), pine
(203), maple (285), hawthorn (159), alder (156), and hazel (131). [The lep
number is across all species in the genus; any given species won't feed so
many.]"

Not being an entomologist or biologist, I take this to mean than there are 534 known "leps" (a kind of bug(s))
that feed on Oaks?

If that is the case, then the loss of the Oak (vs. Evergreen take over) in Washington State has had a definite affect on bugs and birds, yes?


Will look for the book.

Bringing Natives Home by Douglas W. Tallamy, 358pp. $18 trade paper.
ISBN-13: 978-0-88192-992-8

M. Zenner-Bertels
Thurston County

michellezenner at yahoo.com