Renegade gardeners across the world are embracing a new philosophy: gardening that prioritizes insects, not plants. The marauders appeared out of nowhere. Looking through my window, I saw them – dozens of what looked like tiny gray caterpillars crawling all over a lovely green plant in my garden. I watched, with some horror, as over a matter of days, these insects chewed the plant to bits.
Countless leaves were munched to nothing, with only sad, spindly stems remaining. Finally, jet-black flies – the gray gobblers transformed – went buzzing off into the world beyond. Presumably, to wreak havoc elsewhere. Initially, I felt like a farmer whose field of maize had just been ravaged by locusts. According to the UK's Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Solomon's seal is relatively unbothered by this extreme defoliation.
"This insect can be tolerated and the plants will survive," the RHS writes on its information page for the insect. All over the world, there are insects that depend on plants for food. They munch at stems, and strip leaves to pieces. They make cuts and holes in otherwise pristine vegetation. To some gardeners, this is anathema. But others recognize that it's all a natural part of how ecosystems work – and without an insect-rich ecosystem, there would be no gardens at all.
Over the last few decades, a massive global crisis has affected insect populations, which are declining at a rate of between 1% and 2% every year. This means that practically any intervention that could help these creatures is valuable.
Another caterpillar some European gardeners enjoy looking out for is the yellow and black-spotted mullein moth caterpillar, which feeds on the flowering plants mullein and buddleia. Then there are cinnabar moth caterpillars, which have very striking black and orange stripes. They tend to eat ragwort. By and large, insects that consume plants shouldn't be called pests, argues Jones.
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