Q: I’ve enjoyed learning about animal mothers, but can I also garden to support animal fathers? I realize many species don’t involve males in raising young, but they still need to eat themselves, and I’d like my landscape to be welcoming.
A: Indeed, with Father’s Day today, it’s a good reminder that healthy and thriving male animals are equally key to maintaining a vibrant population of wildlife in our landscapes. And as you noted, while many animals don’t involve males in raising young, any male animal still benefits from having plenty of resources available.
The plumage of male birds can reveal to a mate how well-nourished he is — plus how well he’s avoided being eaten by a predator when he’s so colorful. The pigments behind some feather colors are derived from a diet rich in substances like carotenoids. Plants manufacture these compounds, and birds eating either the plant directly (like its berries) or indirectly (insects that ate the plant, or spiders that ate insects) help support their health and ability to attract a mate.
Many songbird nestlings also depend on an insect- and spider-rich diet to grow up healthy, and the more diverse we make our landscapes with native plants and pollinator-supporting species, the richer the buffet becomes for these birds.
To boost fertility or individual health, some butterflies supplement their diet with mineral salts. This behavior, called “mud-puddling,” is often practiced by males. Accessible bare soil in a home landscape, such as damp clay or silt in a birdbath — or a literal mud puddle, may help to explore males as they look for mates, with the potential bonus of providing habitat for ground-nesting bees if the soil isn’t often soggy.
Box turtles feed on a wide variety of items, but they are a primary seed disperser for our woodland native Mayapples (podophyllum peltatum). Maryland’s DNR points out that June is the time box turtles are on the move, looking for mates and egg-laying sites. Use caution when mowing grass tall enough to hide a turtle, don’t relocate turtles if you find them. Avoid pesticide use — mushrooms, worms, and insects round out their diet — and add native fruiting plants to your landscape. I imagine a box turtle would love a windfall of fallen persimmon and pawpaw fruits in autumn. More turtle protection tips are available in their article “In Our Hands: Giving Local Box Turtles a Boost.”
Male foxes and raptors (hawks, falcons, owls, etc.) must hunt for their mate while she is sheltering or feeding their babies, and they also may teach exploring youngsters how to hunt. Rethink vole or mole control if they are only a garden nuisance and not causing significant plant damage. Do not use poison baits, which puts these and other animals at risk. Physical barriers to vole and mole tunneling, like blocking access to a veggie garden with buried wire mesh, are a better option.
Insect parental care is rare, but male giant water bugs protect eggs from predation. Home landscape water features can be a great wildlife attractant, including for insects that are aquatic in part or all of their life cycle, in addition to being a valued water source in dry weather. Water bugs and dragonflies are predators in both juvenile and adult stages, for example, and a great natural pest control.
Q: My squash plants got stem borers last year. How do I prevent them this year?
A: If you haven’t planted your squash already, start them from seed now. This helps the plant avoid the window of time the adult moths are active and laying eggs. These moth pupae overwinter in the soil, so tilling or aerating the soil with a garden fork prior to planting can help to expose them to predators (birds will appreciate the snack).
When planting transplants or direct-sowing seed, immediately cover them with row cover or insect mesh netting as long as you don’t suspect pupae are in the soil, since that could trap them inside the barrier. This prevents the moth from reaching the plants to lay eggs. When the squash plants are old enough to begin flowering, the cover can then be partially or fully removed to give access to pollinating bees.
There are a few other methods you can use to combat this native pest, before or after it turns up, which are outlined in our Squash Vine Borer on Vegetables web page.
University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Extension” to send questions and photos.