Milkweed is bustin’ out all over, and I know for a fact that a close friend — who shall remain nameless — has a lot to do with it. Spectacular monarch butterflies depend on milkweed for food during their larval stages. And, with the monarch population in decline, there are those among us who go to lengths of dubious legality to help out.
Part of the blame for the monarchs’ numbers falling has to do with an increased adoption of herbicide-resistant crops, which thrive at the same time as milkweed and other valuable plants along the margins of fields are wiped out. In the Western United States, monarchs have declined by about 95 percent, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, and by nearly that much in the East.
Adult monarchs are prodigious pollinators that feast on flower nectar, depending on color to pick out blossoms from among vegetation. Vast monocrops of corn and soybeans greatly limit their food sources in the heartland. In the East, the loss of breeding and migratory habitats to development, as well as the use of insecticides, is thought to be responsible.
As for my friend, she and some compatriots became aware of the situation some years ago and decided to help spread milkweed across the South Fork. To this end, they made seed bombs out of mud and milkweed seeds gathered from ripe pods in the late summer. Then, mostly after dark, they drove around hurling their mud balls into likely places. One, along Further Lane in East Hampton, is fairly obvious; a thick stand of milkweed grows along a fence, extending just about as far as an average eco warrior can throw. I drive past now and then and smile to myself.
Pollinator gardens have been popping up here and there; a native grassland is going in at present at Town Hall on Pantigo Road to complement plantings already in place at the rear of the complex. ChangeHampton, a local group, has been spearheading the work, which, when complete, will extend close to a quarter-acre. Parts of it are now visible from the road out front. Planting began in April. The hope is that the natural meadow concept will catch on.