Monarch on Milkweed
One of our farmers in Maine shared with me a while back, that before the Coyotes expanded their range into Maine, he could not keep the deer our of his garden….suffering economic loss year after year.
But after the Coyotes arrived on his farm, the deer did not “hang around” and eat up all his vegetables. Instead they kept on the move……Now this is what happens when there is the BALANCE of the predator and the prey on the landscape.
Our deer herds have lived with wolves for thousands of years here in Maine, and their behavior has been shaped by that relationship. And so our deer herds today know how to relate when coyote is present on the landscape.
SO WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MONARCH BUTTERFLIES AND THEIR SURVIVAL ???
Well….large carnivores like Coyote keep large herbivores like deer ON THE MOVE…preventing them from eating up the VITAL WILD HABITAT of invaluable insects like butterflies and bees, as well as many of our bird species. So wherever our native plants are present, these species can survive and perform the important work of pollination, and for birds…insect patrol.
That is why we want to support our Organic farms here in Maine who grow our food without herbicides that poison and kill these important species, but who also support the presence of coyotes on their farms, who by their presence protect the habitat… preventing the deer from eating it up.
And what about your land…..? Know that your property, whether it be farm or not, can be a place of healthy habitat for these important insects….and you want to PROTECT COYOTES THAT SHARE YOUR LAND WITH YOU. WHEN YOU PROTECT COYOTES, YOU PROTECT MANY OTHER SPECIES.
To understand how VITAL THESE CONNECTIONS ARE, this year was the first year in memory that the people of central Mexico did not observe the iconic return of the Monarch on November 1. Instead they straggled in a week later after their long migration…..LESS THAN 3 MILLION….COMPARED TO LAST YEAR…..60 MILLION.
All of life is connected….and how we live our lives….and the farmers we support for the way they farm….touches the lives of many species.
