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several caterpillars per trip. Tallamy notes that even at only one caterpillar per visit, the pair would have supplied 812 a day— or 4,060 during the study.
Our woods are typical of a young hardwood stand, with oak and hickory on the ridges and beech and maple on the slopes. Together, the forest and our native pollinator plantings attract a wide variety of insects that forage throughout every layer and habitat.
Tallamy reports that the lower 48 states contain 2,137 native plant genera, most of which host at least one caterpillar species. Planting natives therefore supports insect communities, especially caterpillars, a keystone food source for forest songbirds.
There is good reason to value oaks. More than 600 species of Hymenoptera— including sawflies and small wasps— depend exclusively on them as host plants. Oaks also support 897 caterpillar species and more moth and butterfly species than any other hardwood.
I have closely watched only one: an inchworm, or“ looper,” dangling above my cot on the back deck. Its steady munching hints at the activity throughout the canopy. Caterpillars sustain the food web and are a primary food source for land-nesting birds. As one field-station professor put it,“ Connections are what it’ s all about.”
In a healthy neighborhood rich with birds, nesting parents need thousands of caterpillars. I wonder whether our native host plants and managed oaks provide enough— and whether native bats can still find the moths that seem scarcer each year. By mowing less and planting a wider variety of species, I hope to improve the outlook.
Woodland sunflowers, Joe-Pye weed, the last wild hydrangea blossoms, and gooseberries clinging to nearly bare branches suggest the close of another season.
This winter, beside a wood stove filled with seasoned oak, I will reflect on what our woods provided for resident birds. Oak leaves nourished caterpillars, which in turn fed bluebirds, wrens, and others. As the cold settles in, I will be watching for them. •
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