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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sat Oct 17, 2015 11:34 am
Blck-shouldered Kite
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Location: Maine
There are about 40 million acres of lawn in suburban America.  Man (no most) wildlife species from the bottom to mid trophic levels do tolerate living in close-proximity to people and do have the adaptabilities to connect pieces of suburban lawns together so that we can preserve what is left and co-exist.  But if we do not begin taking action to this end…we are going to lose all of it.  

Suburban America is in the process of killing off the entire terrestrial food web.  So we ask just two things from Suburban Americans:

1.   Reclaim just half of their lawns back to native wildflowers.  After all, folks want areas to play and walk on.

2.   Only mow/trim what lawn you choose to leave; i.e. please do not poison the remaining lawn with herbicides and insecticides.   

The terrestrial food web that once flourished in suburban America is quickly dying now because it cannot survive without energy.  And it is certain that it is not going to get any energy because…...lawn pesticides are destroying all of the energy producers.  The primary producers.

Following is text I included in the post about American Lawn Obsession.  

Monsanto's troubles are worsening (and that is great news to most of us), but the damage that suburban Americans have done to the terrestrial food web goes much deeper than glyphosate (Round-Up).  Still, it is entirely possible to reclaim all of it for nature for us to enjoy again.  In fact, as more people become aware of the truths in all of this….I think the reclamation for suburban nature is inevitable  :wink:  I want to see the kids today and in the future….see the nature that I saw in suburban America.  Sooner than later, this is going to catch on and spread like fire across this nation.  The truth is coming out!!

http://www.salon.com/2015/10/03/monsant ... y_partner/

The causes of the destruction of our terrestrial food web in suburban America:   

In my area, Portland, Maine, there is city-wide fight brewing over whether to ban all pesticides.  I am going to guess that the City Council is going to back away from this, simply because the lawn companies are making lots of money from it and the city wants to avoid law suits.  Here is a 2010 link where NH lawn companies sued over the banning of pesticides.

http://www.panna.org/resources/panups/panup_20100205

But law suits work both ways.  I am hopeful the people across this country become so pissed off over the loss of nature in suburban America, that they begin to sue.   Never forget that we at NSN (and all nature lovers) have nature on our sides.  We have what is good and right on our sides.  We have the truth on our sides.  

LIFE BEFORE THE LAWN CARE COMPANIES
Before Americans began poisoning (with herbicides/insecticides) their lawns just for those perfect light and dark striped lawns, we had fairly diverse terrestrial food webs in suburban America.   I remember each June/July going outside to the trilling of American Toads (Secondary Consumer, along with the songbirds) and walking up to them and photographing them as they sang.  Not now.  Wildlife knows no borders.  If my neighbors are using pesticides in their lust to develop the perfect lawn, they are killing the nature that is on my property too.  

I cannot express the anger I feel over the realization that people around me have destroyed the American Toads (example) I love…..without a thought for the consequences of their actions.  These people, these lawn companies, are continuing to get away with the destruction of the terrestrial food web, right at its base. 

Ok, so on my land I do see one very small American Toad about once every other year.  But you see, there are no insects and so there is almost none of the energy that is needed for these toads to begin re-building a viable population.  We are going to change that.  BTW….this was one of those years:  This Summer, I caught a little toad jumping in front of my mower.  I picked it up and released it in my wildflower area.  Last year and the year before that (Summers 2013 and 2014) I did not see one single toad on my land.  And as for a breeding American Toad…I have not seen one on my land in about 20 years.  The American Toad is an Indicator Species as to the available biomass or energy in the terrestrial system around my home.  If this system was diverse and strong, I would see full grown American Toads hunting at night.  Again….not one adult seen in about the last two decades!!!

PRIMARY PRODUCERS: the MOST VITAL TROPHIC LEVEL
The yearly energy budget for all terrestrial food webs is manufactured at the base of the energy pyramid.  All (100%!) of the energy manufactured in terrestrial food webs is manufactured at the very base trophic level…. by the Primary Producers, through that most important of all bio-chemical processes on Earth…photosynthesis.  And higher trophic levels have dramatically less energy available to them.   

The second trophic level is the Primary Consumers, the herbivores.  The Primary Consumers are totally dependent upon the Primary Producers for all the energy in the food web.  And it is the insects that comprise the largest biomass within the Primary Consumer trophic level in the energy pyramid.  

This is why I say that with lawn pesticides, suburban Americans are killing the terrestrial food web, at its most vital part….its base.  Without the Primary Producers, there is no natural food web, there are no insects and of course, there are no birds.  

In Portland, Maine, lawn companies have all but completely destroyed both the primary producers and primary consumers.  Passerine bird pops are way down.  American toads are all but absent…rare!  There are almost no butterflies in Portland.  There formerly was.  I know because I went to many different wildflower meadows in the City and photographed the butterflies in decades past.  The black/yellow argiope spiders are completely gone….not one.  I am beginning to suspect there are no Black/Yellow Argiopes because of Biomagnification.   Remember, the B/Y Argiope (Golden Garden Spider) predates a variety of invertebrates in the "old fields".  

the WHITE CABBAGE MOTH and PESTICIDES PERPETUATE PESTICIDES.
There is one lepidopteran (butterflies/moth) that could probably be designated as common in Portland, Maine.  It is the white cabbage moth.  Now I cannot prove what I am about to say.  And this is why we need to find the means to have research done all across suburban America to compare treeless, pesticide-free, natural land parcels vs. treeless land parcels that have been "treated" poisoned with herbicides/insecticides.  This is the only way that it will be conclusively proven that the diversity/biomass of native species on the un"treated", treeless parcel is dramatically higher than the same on the parcel that has been poisoned in favor of grass production.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that virtually no animals (insects are in the Animal Kingdom) will be found on the "treated" parcel. 

When I tell people there are no butterflies in Portland, there is almost no reaction.  Apparently they do not care enough to even have noticed.  But at one meeting on banning pesticides, I did get a reaction.  The couple told me that they just saw a butterfly on the way to the meeting.  I asked them what color it was and sure enough….they said it was white.  The reason I asked is because I suspected it was white.  My theory for the still-commoness of this moth in Portland is based on the fact that the White Cabbage Moth has long been an Agricultural Pest.  Here is what I think is happening.  And if not, then why is this white cabbage moth the only lepidopteran that can be commonly seen within Portland, Maine's borders?  The theory is rooted in the natural processes called Genetic Mutations and Natural Selection (first recognized by Charles Darwin).   In these concise links, please note the difference between Acquired Mutations (AM) vs. Hereditary mutations (HM).  You see, Acquired Mutations commonly occur in all organisms.  And by chance alone, there have been AM's that have allowed some white cabbage moths to survive certain insecticides while all other WCM's that came in contact with this insecticide application….died.  In this process, only the ones that survived exposure to this application of this insecticide…lived to reproduce and pass on their genetic make-up.   This is called Natural Selection.  It is when their AM became HM.  This perpetual biological process is the very reason why pesticide companies are having to develop new potions to maintain lethality.  Pesticides perpetuate pesticides.  It is my hope that we can pass the word to enough people to stop the insane destruction of what terrestrial food web that remain in suburban America.  

Our anti-nature suburban landscapes will revert back to Naturescapes as we begin to ply the process of "Bringing Nature Home" .   In his book, Doug Tallamy PhD., does not discuss pesticides.  This relates to why I said that the destruction of the suburban America's terrestrial food web goes much deeper than Round-UP (glyphosate).    But Doug's book theme is the same same theme as this posting, only he is the expert researcher on the whole picture.  He promotes the planting of the natives that evolved here over eons:  We need to re-establish our native terrestrial food webs in suburban America before it is too late.  And it is getting later all the time.  My greatest fear is that people will just forget and take things for granted as time passes.  We cannot let that happen!  But we can turn this thing around if we just keep teaching teachers to teach teachers to teach (pass on the word  :).  All we are doing is passing the truth on to the young people, so that they can make decisions for the future of the Biosphere.  

Someone said that We do not inherit land from our parents; we borrow it from our children.

LIGHT STRIPE, DARK STRIPE, LIGHT STRIPE, DARK STRIPE, LIGHT STRIPE, DARK STRIPE

To get those perfect light and dark stripes that people are driven to get….you have to treat (again…poison) the primary producers with broadleaf herbicides and primary consumers with insecticides.  Once the lawn becomes 100% grass (through the poisonings), the rollers (on those mowers that do have rollers),  lay over the grass blades as they pass over the grass.  The laid over blades reflect sunlight to the observer's brain (because they temporarily point away from the observer), giving the blades a lighter tone to them.  On the swaths that are on each side of the light stripe, the blades of grass are leaning toward the viewer (because the mower was traveling in the opposite direction, toward the viewer), and so the sunlight does not glance off the blades and into the observers brain.  Sorry if this is obvious to you.  It was not for me for a very long time and so I thought it necessary to explain to the reader.

This light stripe, dark stripe appearance, has become an American obsession.  We even see that Major League Baseball have now learned to "write" their logos into the field.

To obtain the ability to do this, one must kill all herbaceous species that compete with grass.  And this is because the broad-leaved herbaceous plants (the NATIVES!!!!) do not lay over when passed over with a mower roller.  


This means that on the space that you want only grass you must do two things


1.  Poison the trophic level that manufactures 100% of the energy in the natural terrestrial food web.  That is exactly what you are doing.
2.  Poison the trophic level that contains all the insects.


That is exactly what the lawn care people are doing (despite what they may tell you) when they spray your lawn to make absolutely sure that you get a 100% grass lawn. 

My Wildflowers to date
Converting much of our lawns to native wildflowers is much more natural, responsible and exciting.  I had a prosperous wild flower growing-season this year.  There will be more wildflowers next year.  Here is a partial list of my new plants:  Joe-Pye-Weed (2 or 3 species), 3 native Milkweed species, Pacific Giants (Delphinium spp.), Foxglove, Mexican Sunflower, Perennial Sunflower, numerous annual sunflower varieties, False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)…this is native to the American prairie, Black-eyed Susan.  If the plant is native to anywhere in NA, it is native enough for me. Sorry for not including all the latin names.  

the hated Dandelion…and SantaFe Joe
It was SantaFe Joe, on a separate posting on this forum, who brought this to my attention.  He said that he has numerous Fritillaries (I believe that is the genus of butterfly he mentioned) that appear on his dandelions.  So I did a little research and read that the hated dandelion is probably the very first pollen producer for our native insects in the Spring.  Well, I combined that reading with over a half-century of observing nature in my life. I came to a firm conclusion:  It is the truth:  In all my years, this has been right in front of me and I did not see it.  The dandelion is a vital flower available to the pollinators/nectar-eaters in early Spring.  So, next Spring, I think I am going to try to begin to manage dandelions from the perspective that they can be a nuisance, but they are vital for the early pollinators.  Dandelions are native and they greatly contribute to the terrestrial food web.  Isn't it interesting that how you look at something depends on, well, how you look at it (ahhh…duh).  Heretofore, I was on a campaign to remove ALL dandelions.  I bought mechanical weed tools just to to remove Plantain, crabgrass and dandelion.  I still do not like the crab grass.     

Neighborhood complaints?
So far, I have not had any complaints from the neighbors.  If I do, I am going to explain my goals and then ignore the complaints….even if I have to defy the City.  I had one neighbor who had the audacity to ask me what it was that I was doing.  You know, they do not ask the woman across the street why she is allowing a lawn care company to put poisons on her lawn.  I am sure that a big part of this is keeping the remaining grass mowed and trimmed.  And I do.  :)  

I have nature on my side.  There are  quite a few houses in Portland, Maine that have much of their lawns in flowers but I have not yet noticed one that is all native.  

Suburban Americans have become perverted to nature and I am hoping it is just because they do not know what they are doing.  I am hoping it is not because they do not want nature around them.  Even if they do not….their kids are going to know the truth. 

What will become of this?
There are a bit over 40 million acres in American lawns.  If we can successfully convert just half of that we will see an enormous increase in songbirds and butterflies and many other species in suburban America.  Over 95% of our songbird species must feed their nestlings a diet consisting of over 90% insects…or that nesting year fails.  You can now see a major reason for our precipitous songbird decline.  Here is a study that involved Chickadees and Northern Red Oaks (I believe).  Ok, the plant is a tree and not herbaceous, but the finding is that songbirds must feed their young a diet of insects

As suburbanites begin restoring/maintaining native plants and do not poison our insects, the songbirds will flourish again.  And we will again see a diversity of native butterflies.   

That is about it for now.  Thanks :)

PS…Did I recently say to NSN that I appreciate this forum?  And thanks to BaldSparrow for showing me a simplified process for injecting references.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart.  

Robert


Last edited by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sat Nov 14, 2015 12:28 am, edited 4 times in total.
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by Roberto67 on Sat Oct 24, 2015 2:06 am
Roberto67
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Joined: 21 Oct 2015
Yeah it is important to spray pesticide in the lawns. There are so many herbal pesticides available nowadays that are safe for the health. I am working in a Pest control Port Macquarie firm and we always use the organic products for our work.
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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Fri Nov 13, 2015 11:35 pm
Blck-shouldered Kite
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2669
Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Location: Maine
Roberto67 wrote:Yeah it is important to spray pesticide in the lawns. There are so many herbal pesticides available nowadays that are safe for the health. I am working in a Pest control Port Macquarie firm and we always use the organic products for our work.
Of course you are wrong:  It is important to not spray pesticide in the lawns.

Anyway, I clicked on your link.  Your message is completely off what my post was about.

What you have done is put in a plug for your company.  



  
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by pleverington on Sat Nov 14, 2015 9:09 am
pleverington
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Posts: 5355
Joined: 30 Jun 2004
Excellent post Robert...

I found this site and would like to pass it along. It's a very easy and informative site that lists the native plants for your area based on what state you live in..

Just a handy as heck little reference to have available...

http://plantnative.com/index.htm

Paul
Paul Leverington
"A great image is one that is created, not one that is made"
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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sat Nov 14, 2015 7:32 pm
Blck-shouldered Kite
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2669
Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Location: Maine
Thanks Paul, beautiful site, very interesting; I just touched bases with them.
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by Blck-shouldered Kite on Sat Nov 14, 2015 7:33 pm
Blck-shouldered Kite
Forum Contributor
Posts: 2669
Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Location: Maine
Thanks Paul, beautiful site, very interesting; I just touched bases with them.
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