BS: Bugs!!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: GUEST,olddude
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 07:50 PM

Or it you like Shaw, I can visit you and we can discuss it ...

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 07:52 PM

There isn't an adult moth or butterfly on the planet that can do either you or your property the slightest harm. Some of their caterpillars can be a pain. Processionary moth caterpillars in plague years can seriously damage forest trees. Large white butterfly caterpillars are a bloody nuisance on my brassicas. I've grown calabrese before now that's been "more meat than veg". But when we grow large areas of monoculture crops or plantations we are just Inviting trouble. With plenty of biodiversity nothing becomes any more than a bit of pain for a short time. Nature hardly ever produces monocultures and rarely has plague years of anything if left to itself. We should learn from that. I love butterflies and moths, in fact I've just bought some lovely field guides and I'm educating myself. That moth you're calling bad took three billion years to evolve into what it is. Until we came along there was nothing bad about it. I wonder what it thinks of you, coming along in your size tens ready to stamp on it.

      
"I would not enter in my list of friends,
Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.
An inadvertent step may crush the snail
That crawls at evening in the public path,
But he has the humanity, forewarned,
Will tread aside, and let the reptile live." [William Cowper]

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 07:57 PM

"What a piece of shit you are shaw, pay me a visit Please and we can discuss manners."

Ah, Dan, master of unintended irony... :-)

"And spaw was one of my best friends"

Good for you. I've never mentioned him!

"Or it you like Shaw, I can visit you and we can discuss it ..."

Well, if you like, but I'd worry about the wellbeing of the flight crew...

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 08:58 PM

By the way, thanks to NOMADMan for clearing up a misconception I was harbouring about adult Monarch food sources. Maybe the next one I see will live a bit longer than I was expecting!

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 09:48 PM

Hey, olddude, I'd PM you a friendly encouraging message but that won't be possible if you've deleted your account, which seems likely since you've begun posting as GUEST. I hope you stop by this thread and see that this!

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 09:58 PM

Look, chaps, a little boy of three probably once saw someone stomp on a cockroach, a dirty, disease-carrying, freeloading pest.

He saw a butterfly, and not realizing the difference, thought that the the manly, impressive thing to do was to stomp on it. (Even though the flower girl was an older woman at age 7, he thought she was awful pretty and wanted to be her Knight in Shining Oxfords.)

Fortunately his parents were right there to teach him the difference.

There is no reason to get vituperative over this little story of life and learning.

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: Bert
Date: 21 Sep 15 - 10:49 PM

There is no reason to get vituperative over this little story of life and learning...

It is not being vituperative to not find it funny.

Calling all creepy crawlies 'bugs' is almost as ignorant as calling all quadrupeds 'dogs', but that is America for you.

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: sciencegeek
Date: 22 Sep 15 - 12:10 AM

yikes... is there something in the atmosphere causing this uproar?

I've been lamenting the decline of monarchs and keep an eye on local fields looking to see if milkweed is present, since that seems to be the critical factor... no milkweed, no caterpillars, no next generation. While best to release the butterflies near known patches of milkweed, I see no real problem with other releases... in their remaining 2 to 6 weeks of life, they just might find some on their own.

As for little boys stomping bugs... that's been going on forever and they usually outgrow it, especially if given good guidance on respecting life. I had to protect ant hills from my kid brother who later became to biggest softy you could imagine. I probably would be laughing at the frantic parents myself, while making sure as many critters made it safely on their way.

oh, bubbly... thanks for the mention of Bronco Lane... I used to love that show... well, all westerns for that matter since they had horses... and sang along with all the theme songs... lol

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: maeve
Date: 22 Sep 15 - 09:03 AM

Regarding nectar sources for adult Monarchs:
I agree that Solidago (goldenrod) is one nectar source. There are many varieties of which at least one (Stiff goldenrod)is a better food sources for adult Monarchs than others. Other plants that, in our experience, draw local and traveling monarchs for nectar in far greater numbers than our many species of goldenrod, include: Liatris, Agastache foeniculum, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae, Alliums, Eutrochium, Echinacea, Cosmos, and various others.

This year we raised several hundred Asclepias plants for Monarch egg-laying and larval food, as well as for fiber, pod silk, and seed, using several locally native varieties. There are many factors involved in the decrease in Monarch numbers, so attention to pesticide discontinuation, healthy habitat, informed release programs, and food sources for adults and larvae are only parts of the puzzle, but parts within our individual grasp.

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: GUEST,Olddude
Date: 22 Sep 15 - 10:31 AM

My apologies to the good people I
KKnow on this forum for the outburst. I forget that is has been taken over by the haters and will refrain from posting again. You all know how to contact me. Sadly mudcat has turned into a place that I don't like to visit again. Be well

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: Keith A of Hertford
Date: 22 Sep 15 - 11:15 AM

Well done Steve.
What an asset you are to our little forum.
It gets more little every time you post your bile.

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 22 Sep 15 - 11:40 AM

You've been very silly twice in twenty minutes in two different threads now, Keith. Go and have a little lie down.

Subject: RE: BS: Bugs!!!!
From: GUEST,Kampervan
Date: 22 Sep 15 - 11:46 AM

I cannot believe what I am reading on this thread.

Olddude posts an observational message about something that he has seen - Butterflies being released at a wedding.

Releasing these butterflies, it seems, is part of a US approved progam to increase the population of Monarch butterflies.
Whether some self-appointed expert over here agrees or not, the US believe that this will help.

Next we have a very young person running after these butterflies and trying to stamp on them. His parents respond very quickly and stop him and, hopefully, will go on to explain to him why it was wrong and prevent it happening again.

For this Olddude is subjected to a tirade of outrage to the point where he feels that it's probably easier to give up on Mudcat and delete his account.

I don't know Olddude, but I've read lots of his postings and he seems like a nice guy,and there has to be some way of stopping the people who seem to spend their lives spoiling for a fight and needling anyone that posts.

Long live free speech and disagreement. But bullying and nastiness don't belong here.

IMHO K/van