Photo: Wib Middleton
The Plight of Pollinators
I
was working at a garden
center in Bethesda 20 years
ago, when a fearsome woman
cornered me, demanding
I find her something to kill
“every damn caterpillar” in
her yard. As I offered eco-friendly
options, she briskly cut me off insisting
she must have nothing short
of Napalm because “caterpillars are
ruining my cherry trees!” I don’t
remember what toxic chemical I
ended up selling her, but I do remember
the whole episode causing
a sick feeling in my gut, for in her
determination to save her trees,
she was about to decimate every
By Pamela Boe
insect in her neighborhood. As she
was leaving—and this is my favorite
part—she asked me what she could
plant to attract butterflies! I had to
Monarch caterpillar. PHOTO: JOE LONG
explain to her that the caterpillars
she was about to annihilate were
actually baby butterflies.
Here in Montgomery County’s
Agricultural Reserve—or, as I like
to call it, the Ag Res—I am surrounded
by farmers whose livelihoods
depend on how their actions
effect the ecosystem. In fact, many
local farmers and orchardists
take into account the ecological
ramifications of their agricultural
decisions—and have been doing so
through the generations—as they
are keenly invested in not repeating
mistakes. And although often
unfairly blamed for environmental
plenty I summer growing 2020 21