Native Plants Make All the Difference in Local Ecosystems
Dr. Doug Tallamy, an entomologist from Pennsylvania, has spent over two decades studying the relationship between insects and native plants in his garden.
In 2000, Tallamy and his wife bought a ten-acre tract of land that had been used as a hayfield for centuries, but was overrun with non-native invasive plants such as autumn olive, multiflora rose, and Oriental bittersweet.
Tallamy began to replace these invasive plants with native trees and shrubs, including oaks, cherries, and other species on which local caterpillars had dined for thousands of years.
He kept meticulous records and photographed every moth species he found on the site, as well as logged every bird species that bred there.
After 15 years, the native woody plants on the property were supporting at least 1,000 caterpillar species, and more than 50 bird species had bred there.