Keep Americus Beautiful

Hooray for bugs! Instead of squashing them, learn how bugs help you every day. Although there are bugs that bite us, or some that sting to defend their homes and family, most bugs are helpful critters. . . Dragonflies are the colors of precious gems - sapphire blues and emerald greens - and did you know that they eat mosquitoes?!? .... . Ladybug larvae look like little crinkly caterpillars but they actually eat aphids that eat our garden plants. . . Hover flies look like little bees but they are flies and they don't sting. . . Beetles are "the largest group of animals on earth" (from Smtihsonian webpage si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/beetle) and help clean up everything from dead plants and animals to poop! If we didn't have such a good cleanup crew, imagine how much dead stuff would be left on the ground!! Turn over a rock or dead tree branch and look for beetles and tell them thank you . . . #backyardscience #backyardbugs #backyardwildlife #stayathome #homescience #pollinators #backyardgarden #keepgeorgiabeautiful #keepamericusbeautiful #beetles See more

In addition to butterflies and honeybees (which are not native to the U.S.), there are lots of native bees the are important pollinators. Besides planting lovely flowers and veggies, you can help pollinators by building them a home! It is very, very important to build the bee hotel correctly and to clean it each year. If you don't clean it, bee parasites will move in and hurt the bees. This is a long link but is a great article on the correct way to build and care for a bee hotel: https://pollinators.msu.edu//building-and-managing-bee-ho/ . . . #backyardgarden #backyardscience #homegardens #homescience #stayathome #backyardwildlife #pollinators # native bees #beehotel #beehotels #keepgeorgiabeautiful #keepamericusbeautiful

Songbirds can be found in a variety of colors and sizes. The fruit of Beautyberry is another treat many birds enjoy. . Many birds are very particular about the kinds of foods that they eat. Make lists of birds that prefer eating seeds and birds that would rather eat insects and insect larvae. . .... #backyardgarden #feedthebirds #backyardscience #homegardens #homescience #stayathome #backyardwildlife #keepamericusbeautiful #keepgeorgiabeautiful #hostplants

How many birds did you find on your scavenger hunt? You can welcome more birds to your yard by putting out feeders and planting plants that provide tasty bird treats. Coneflowers, Black-eyed Susans and Sunflowers are some common flowers whose seeds are favorite bird food. Serviceberries, crabapples and other fruit trees also invite birds to visit your yard. . Do a little online research and make a list of other plants whose fruit or seeds provide good bird food. . .... #backyardgarden #feedthebirds #backyardscience #homegardens #homescience #stayathome #backyardwildlife #keepamericusbeautiful #keepgeorgiabeautiful #hostplants See more

Have a backyard scavenger hunt!. . How many birds can you spot? Identify the birds using the Audubon app or Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell University. . .... How about different bugs? They actually have a lot of important jobs -- pollinators, food for other critters, clean-up crew (more on bugs later!). . Speaking of pollinators, how many pollinators can you find? Birds, bats, butterflies, moths, beetles, wasps and bees can be pollinators. . Pollinators go from flower to flower, which spreads pollen and fertilizes the flower, creating seeds and nuts, fruits and vegetables. Without pollinators we wouldn’t have food!! . . ##backyardgarden #butterflies #caterpillars #hostplants #backyardscience #homescience #pollinators #backyardwildlife #keepamericusbeautiful #keepgeorgiabeautiful See more