Local birds starve as foreign shrubs escape!

Darkfrog submitted, created time 10 months 1 day (www.nytimes.com)

People worry their heads off about genetically engineered crop plants, but these are often the same people who plant off-continent shrubs in their gardens. They escape. The bugs can't eat 'em. The birds go hungry. The end.

This quote in particular struck me:

"Although gardeners might believe that when they plant a butterfly bush, native to China, they are helping butterflies, they are merely attracting the adults who sip the nectar. The plant cannot be eaten by the butterfly larvae."

Now, ordinarily, I don't care to feed larvae. I want them to die because they're horrid

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: decorative plants ornamental plants plants gardening landscaping shrubs shrubbery ecology local ecology birds birdwatching insects science and culture ecosystems butterflies