Nov 06 2009
Flowers Without Butterflies
Anyone know what kind of plant this is? The large, cone-shaped composite flowers it produces are getting much less insect action lately.
Less daylight hours, cooler air . . . and significantly fewer butterflies. Maybe those variables are related. The element that hasn’t seen a similar decline, it seems to me, is the number of blossoms in our yard. So where have all the butterflies gone?
Don’t laugh, but at this very moment I am wearing two pairs of socks. It’s a chilly 72 degrees inside. I kid you not. Yes, I am a typical, thin-blooded Floridian. I set the air conditioner at 78 degrees and have little problem with heat. And it’s a good thing, seeing daytime high temperatures around here exceed 80 degrees for more months than they don’t (7 to 5 by my quick figuring).
If the butterflies have flown to Aruba for the winter, maybe I’ll join them.
