DEAD LEAVES ARE IMPORTANT TO MANY MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES
backyardwildlifeconnection by Terry W.Johnson
Most of us do not enjoy raking fallen leaves in autumn, however, not raking leaves around butterfly and other host plants is one of the most important ways to ensure you will see your favorite butterflies and moths flying about your yard next year.
A beautiful day-flying moth, the snowberry clearwing, is a great example of a moth that benefits from not raking leaves beneath its host plants.
The snowberry clearwing is a day-flying moth that frequents our flower gardens during the summer. This stunning moth uses a handful of plants as its larval host; one such plant is coral honeysuckle. This native honeysuckle bears long red tubular flowers throughout the spring and summer. After the moth’s bright green caterpillars have grown as big as they are going to get, they literally drop to the ground beneath their hosts and hide among the fallen leaves. They then enter the next stage of their life; forming a cocoon and pupate during the winter. This miraculous process only works if the caterpillars fall into a protective blanket of leaf litter.
Other moths and butterflies also spend the winter in leaf litter. With that in mind, when we refrain from raking the leaves under host plants, we benefit the moths and butterflies wintering among these fallen leaves too.
