Spring Gardening Mistakes That Harm Bees, Butterflies, and Fireflies

Spring is upon us! For some that means baseball season, walks after dinner and opening the windows in the house. For others, me included, longer days and warmer temps make me itchy to flex my green thumb in the garden.  Before you pick up that rake or trowel to clean up your outdoor space, please consider the critters who overwinter in your leaves, plant stems and garden debris. Even though we may be ready to get started this spring, the pollinators may not be. 

Terrestrial insects who overwinter in our area typically do so in one of three locations: under the soil, within plant material/leaf litter or above the ground on vertical plant material. By tidying these areas or tilling the soil too early, we can disturb these species before they are ready to emerge for the spring, and harm their chances of survival. For example, moth and butterfly chrysalis cling to stems through the winter and early spring before they hatch out and fly away; cutting back pithy plant stems prematurely can ruin bees’ chance at life. Removing leaves from garden beds reduces lightning bug eggs before they can hatch out.   While some bees like bumblebees and carpenter bees emerge early in spring to take advantage of early pollen, they retreat into plant debris and leaf litter at night and during hard April rains to shelter themselves from the elements. Other bees and flying insects wait until early May before burrowing out of the plant stems. 

While looking at messy beds may be difficult on the eyes, allowing the insects to come out when they are ready benefits us all. Pollinators like moths, butterflies and bees pollinate the flowers, fruits and vegetable gardens we grow and enjoy through the summer and fall. Other beneficial insects like lady bugs, wasps and fireflies eat garden pests such as aphids and grubs which can be highly destructive to the gardens we care for.  Allowing pests to do their job means less chemicals needed for garden care!

So, how do you know when it’s time to clean up your winter garden? Here are a few rules of (green) thumb to help you know it’s safe to clean up your garden beds: 

- Is your grass growing and in need of a mow? If your grass is turning green and growing longer, it’s safe to assume all insects/invertebrates have emerged.

- Have the apple and pear trees finished their beautiful spring blooms? If so, it’s safe to proceed. 

- Would you plant tomatoes, cucumbers or basil outside right now? If so, go forth and rake! 

Lastly, when cleaning up your garden, it’s ok to let some plant stems remain, or if you do cut stems to the ground, leave the stem parts scattered in your beds for nesting bees. You can also move stems and leaf litter to another location where it can provide habitat for insects year-round.  See the graphic for further information.