Help with Butterfly-predacious Hornets

[Anne Kilmer]

Doug Yanega wrote:
> snip
> >Unless these hornets are on some endangered species list,  I would
> >like to put them nearer to one !
> 
> They're probably rarer and more threatened than most of the butterflies in
> your garden, that's for sure. Me, I'd be absolutely thrilled to have the
> wasps, but that's a personal choice as a scientist.
> 
> Peace,
> 
> Doug Yanega   

my choice as a poet and gardener, as well.
I've been pushing butterfly gardening in my parish largely to provide 
food for the native predators, and make it possible to garden without 
pesticides. yep, butterflies are pretty, but the 99 out of a hundred 
caterpillars that feed the birds and critters are also important. 
rebuilding the full and glorious spectrum of the ecosystem is what we 
need to be thinking of. 
your blue jay will spot your "hornet" soon enough. meanwhile, enjoy the 
ride.
i once watched a class of master gardeners I had just taught about 
butterflies. we were watching a Cassius blue butterfly (Leptotes 
cassius) hacking around in a plumbago. Came a great dragonfly and 
snatched it. They were horrified. I even more so, as I realized that I 
had utterly failed to teach them what butterflies are for. 
Anne Kilmer
South Florida