Monarch butterfly feeding off milkweed. TDOT launched a program to promote milkweed production, a common source of food for butterflies, birds and other insects.

Free milkweed seed will help citizens restore landscapes and preserve habitat; orders commence again in June for popular TDOT project

NASHVILLE — Amid unprecedented citizen demand, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) halted online orders for free milkweed seed, offered as part of its Project Milkweed. Launched in June 2023, this mail-order resource was aimed at restoring landscapes and preserving habitats for monarch butterflies and other pollinator species. Since June, TDOT has taken nearly 131,000 individual orders from Tennesseans for milkweed seed. In total, 779,601 red and common milkweed seed packets were requested. The program will return in June 2024.

“TDOT is happy to offer such a popular program to the public, and to empower Tennesseans to do their part in saving pollinators as they are vital to life, growing food, and the economy of Tennessee,” said TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley in a release.

Orders exhausted a stock of 300,000 milkweed seed packets by Sept. 30. Additional seed material has been ordered and is expected to arrive in October. All remaining orders will be fulfilled then, according to TDOT. 

TWRA is stressing the importance of being BearWise after removing a plastic pet feeder from a bear cub’s head this week in Blount County. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Wildlife agency advises people to be bear aware 

Matthew Cameron is a wildlife information specialist at Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. 

MARYVILLE — Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is stressing the importance of being BearWise after recently removing a plastic pet feeder from a bear cub’s head. TWRA Black Bear Support Biologist Janelle Musser responded and promptly began a trapping effort. She was able to lure the cub into a trap, but was unable to trigger it with its mouth due to the container on its head. She moved the trap each time a new sighting was reported, even trying different style traps but the mother became trap shy and difficult to pattern.

Red Knot.    Chuck Homler 

CHARLESTON — A landmark settlement prohibits horseshoe crab collection on the beaches of more than 30 islands along the South Carolina coast that are established feeding sites for rufa red knots during their annual migration — as well as any harvesting in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge — for at least five years.

Every spring, red knots time their 9,300-mile migration from South America to the Canadian Arctic perfectly so they stop on the same beaches of South Carolina at the exact moment horseshoe crabs begin to spawn.

These protein-rich crab eggs are critical for red knots, providing the fuel they need to complete their transpolar journey. This delicate relationship between horseshoe crabs and red knots has developed over millions of years.

Come join the fun at the annual UT Arboretum Society Butterfly Festival from 10 a.m to 1 p.m on September 9 at the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center and Arboretum. The event will include educational activities about protecting these pollinators.  Photo courtesy University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

UT grounds planned butterfly release but festival will fly

OAK RIDGE — The University of Tennessee Arboretum canceled a planned release of painted butterflies originally scheduled for its upcoming annual butterfly festival, but the pollinator-positive educational event will go on to the joy of families and nature enthusiasts across East Tennessee.

“While the fun-filled and educational event is still scheduled for Sept. 9, a mass release of painted lady butterflies is no longer scheduled as part of the event,” according to the UT Arboretum Society.

The 8th annual festival will occur from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the UT Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center and Arboretum, 901 S. Illinois Avenue, Oak Ridge. Plenty of activities will provide educational opportunities for the public to learn how we can all protect our pollinators, according to the UT Institute of Agriculture.

“The butterfly species previously planned for release at the festival was the painted lady, Vanessa carduii. Butterfly releases have been held at past festivals with the intention that the more people understand an organism, the more they are inspired to help protect it. Though there has not been definitive scientific research about the impact of painted lady butterfly releases, the UT Arboretum Society has decided to join many other scientific organizations, such as the North American Butterfly Association and the Smithsonian Institute, in not promoting this practice,” according to a release.

Cynthia Maples, the head beekeeper at Zoo Knoxville, checks out her buzzing charges.  JJ Stambaugh

With no clear cause, after two decades beekeepers across North America report losing up to 90 percent of their hives.

Although the alarming losses of the 2006-7 season have not repeated, since then, experts consistently track higher than normal winter losses among honeybee colonies, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

A survey by the University of Maryland University of Maryland found 40% of US honeybee colonies died between April 2018 and April 2019.

While most Americans associate the insects with one of humankind’s oldest sweet treats - honey - they might not realize honeybees are actually an invasive species that can end up competing for resources with indigenous “pollinators” such as bumblebees. 

“Worldwide, there are over 20,000 species of bees,” said Cynthia Maples, the lead beekeeper and apiarist at Zoo Knoxville. “About 265 of those are bumble bees. In North America, there are 46 bumblebee species. In the southeast, we have about 15 bumble species with at least six of those in decline.”

Maples explained all bees are part of the order Hymenoptera, which also includes ants and wasps.

“Native pollinators would classify as those species naturally occurring in a particular area, not introduced. Honeybees are technically an invasive species to North America. They were brought over from Europe by humans,” she said.

“In the past few years the narrative has made a switch from keeping honeybees to help native pollinators to the realization that honeybees may be stealing resources from native pollinators,” she continued. “Honeybees are still very important as agricultural pollinators, but protecting native pollinators is also very important.”

While Maples doesn’t know if local bee populations are on the ropes, she said the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (an international nonprofit group) has formed regional “community science groups” as part of a widespread effort to track bumblebee species. 

“It’s really hard to say specifically if there has been a decline in local insect populations since insects are very difficult to track,” she said. “I took part in the training for the southeast bumble bee atlas earlier this year. The hope is that this atlas will give scientists a better idea of population numbers.”

It’s important that scientists understand any threats to the health of the world’s bee populations as the insects are vital to humankind’s ability to survive.

Bees — both domesticated and wild — are responsible for pollinating 71 of the 100 crop species that provide 90 percent of the global food supply, according to experts from greentumble.

Without bees, for instance, there would be no apples, avocados, onions, cucumbers, oranges or almonds. 

“Pollination is defined as the act of transferring pollen grains from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma,” Maples explained. “When bees go from flower to flower collecting pollen, they are also depositing pollen grains onto the flowers, thus pollinating them. Not all plants rely on insects to reproduce; for example, some are wind pollinated.”

“The bees benefit because nectar and pollen are their food source. Nectar is an energy source and pollen is a protein source for them. Many agricultural plants are pollinated by bees, hence their importance for us. Roughly one in three bites of food are pollinated by bees, plus another 25 percent of animal feed stuffs. Almonds are 100 percent honeybee pollinated.”

It’s not entirely clear why bee populations appear to be shrinking, but Maples said there’s no shortage of possible explanations.

“As with many species in decline, there are a number of reasons behind it,” she said. “Habitat loss is a big one. Our culture has taught us that we should have pristine lawns without ‘weeds,’ but letting your yard — even in part — grow wild would be a huge step in creating more resources for pollinators. Dandelions and clover can be a haven for pollinators.”

Poisons used to control unwanted animals and insects are another factor. 

“Pesticides have a huge impact as well, especially though containing neonicotinoids,” she said. “Pesticides rarely distinguish between beneficial invertebrates and those that cause harm.”

This summer’s historic heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere may also be playing a role, but Maples cautioned that it’s too early to know for certain what the impact is. 

“Climate change may also be playing a role,” she explained. “It isn’t clear if bumblebees are adapting to changing temperatures within their normal ranges.” 

Those interested in helping researchers to track bee populations can go to Xerces and learn about taking part in one of the organization’s community science groups.

Do bees really have knees? And more on the idiom.