Daniel Quinn’s Books: Ishmael and The Story of B

What can I do?

I think the late Daniel Quinn was a genius, and his books, Ishmael and The Story of B, have answered questions I had, as well as giving me a new view on how the world got in the mess it is in today. I have gained a useful understanding from reading his work, and while this is all very well and good, I find myself asking: What can I do? Quinn said in interviews that this was a question he had often been asked by his fans, fans who had understood the points he was making in his work and felt moved to want to take action. The author’s answer was to go out and get 100 more people to understand. So, this is what I am trying to do here. The idea is that if 100 people understand Quinn’s theories, that they can get another 100, and that 100 can get another 100. The word will keep spreading and eventually there will be enough change in how the world is run, and this will help stop the world being destroyed. So let me tell you about my understanding of what Quinn was saying in his work. Let me introduce you to Ishmael!

Ishmael

Gorilla (Photo: Public Domain/Pixabay)

The character of Ishmael is actually a gorilla, but he becomes a teacher for the narrator of the story. Ishmael challenges the storyteller and the reader with his questions and statements. Ishmael makes the point that all of us have been conditioned by our “Mother Culture” to share beliefs, and this culture has spread globally. It is the culture responsible for world religions, world politics, global corporations, and the daily damage being inflicted on the natural world. It is responsible for consumerism, for wasting natural resources, and for the crazy belief that humans are superior to other animals, and that the world is made for them to use as they please. This has led humans from this culture to be at war, not only with other humans and themselves, but with nature. They see nature as something to be conquered. The verb “conquer” is frequently used in common speech. For example, a mountain climber is conquering a mountain. Humans like this do not see that they are as much a part of nature as the natural world they are attempting to conquer and use.

Quinn puts forward the idea that this all began about 10,000 years ago, at the dawn of civilisation, as it is taught. We have been told that civilisation began in the Middle East area, when great cultures like the Phoenicians, the Babylonians, Sumerians and Egyptians began building cities, using writing, and living in a civilised way. It is as if everything that went before this was of little consequence, primitive, and not worth talking about. These early civilisations went in for agriculture in a big way. It enabled them to settle in one location and to feed the many people who lived and worked in the cities. But according to Quinn, it was what he calls “Totalitarian agriculture,” and I will explain more about this later. But what went before these cultures and societies were hundreds of thousands of years, in which people were living on the planet and getting along fine. We don’t hear about this period of human history. I never did, when I was in school. So the greatest span of time in which humans were living on the planet is more or less unaccounted for by Mother Culture. It has been very conveniently forgotten about. Quinn calls this the “Great Forgetting.” The very many tribal peoples that lived before civilisation were hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists and combinations of these life-support lifestyles. Some practiced the herding of animals, like goats and sheep. Many still do but they are at odds with the advancement of global civilisation and development that has no problem with taking these peoples’ lands, mining them, polluting them, and destroying environments and the ways of life of indigenous people.

The Takers and The Leavers

Ishmael, who by now we realise is voicing Quinn’s ideas, calls the cultures that were the ones recorded in history as the civilised societies, the “Takers.” Not in the book, but later on in his life he regretted using this term because it has been misunderstood, but I will use it here. The rest of the world, in other words, all tribal and indigenous peoples, were, and still are the “Leavers.” There are and were fundamental differences in what these cultures believed. Quinn, speaking as Ishmael, explains that the takers violated and continue to violate the “Law of Limited Competition” that all the rest of the animal world and that all Leavers obey. He explains this law in this way: “You may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors or destroy their food or deny them access to food.” The Takers hold the view that the Earth was made for them, that they are superior in the knowledge and lifestyles to the Leaver cultures, which they regard as primitive, and that they have the right to take what they want and do what they want. Biblical scriptures in Genesis 1:28 back up their views: ‘God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground."’ This is indeed, what has happened. Humans have increased so much that we now have over 7 billion, and many humans of the Takers who follow the Mother Culture and are in positions of power, have been thinking they are right to rule over all living creatures.The Takers feel that it is right to enforce their ways, their culture, their religions and their consumerism upon the Leavers and the rest of the world. This is where the Takers are “breaking the law,” according to Quinn. No other culture amongst the Leavers does this or has done. There are and were many other cultures!
Salvation and Prophets
At the same time that the Mother Culture of the Takers holds this view that it is right and that it should be enforced on the rest of the world, all the major religions followed by the Takers teach that humans are flawed and need some form of spiritual salvation. The patriarchal religions teach that we are born sinners and need to repent. These religions all have prophets, who came to Earth to show us the way to God. The religions of the Far East, Buddhism and Hinduism, also teach that we are flawed and need to follow disciplines, meditation, the use of mantras, etc., to attain enlightenment or to free us from the cycle of birth-death-rebirth. We are taught that we have something wrong with us, and thus need to follow scriptures with the aid of priests and gurus. Mother Culture has spread these ideas worldwide in all civilised societies, where even those people who are atheists, still understand the concept of sin and salvation. All of these religions came about and all of these prophets are said to have been here within the last 6,000 years. The question that came to my mind is what about the hundreds of thousands of years before this? Why had I not thought about this before reading Quinn’s books? The author takes a far greater look at this in The Story of B.
Totalitarian Agriculture

In the Takers “Totalitarian Agriculture” it is right to keep on increasing the amount of land farmed. It is right to destroy all potential other animals and birds that can damage the crops or eat farmed animals, and it is right to prevent them from having access to their natural food. It is easy to think of lots of examples of this, where animals such as wolves, coyotes, pumas, and foxes are hunted and culled. Sea mammals are not spared. Seals are killed because they might eat fish that humans want. Seals might take fish from fish farms, so they must be shot. This stops the animal having access to its natural food, classes it as an enemy and kills it. I have recently been reading reports of seals shot in Shetland because they are viewed as a threat to salmon farms.This culling is currently in progress in many places where birds and mammals are regarded as a threat to farmed crops and farmed animals. Quinn points out that only people of the Takers do this. Only Takers break the Law of Limited Competition.
Feeding the Starving Millions
Quinn explains that followers of the Mother Culture talk a lot about feeding the starving millions. Increased farming is given as the way to help these people by increasing food production. However, in reality even though the amount of land given over to farming is increased, the millions continue to starve. Food is unfairly distributed and often wasted in vast amounts, and this is becoming common knowledge. It is a myth that there is insufficient food for the people on the planet. What does continue to happen from the increased food production is an increase in population numbers. People from all classes of society, including those very poor ones in the starving millions, continue to reproduce and the population continues to rise. Many people die but still the population is increasing. Quinn points out that with all forms of life, increased food sources means an increase in population. Peoples of the Leaver tribes do not do this, so their numbers stay within the natural resources of the areas they are in. Quinn is not putting forward the idea that the Leaver peoples do not have conflict with other neighbouring peoples but they work out a system whereby each tribe has a territory. It has its own culture and belief system but it does not attempt to convert the rest of the world to its ways of living, unlike those of the Takers. Human population growth is continuing to use resources, destroy the environment worldwide and drive an increasing number of other species to extinction, estimated by scientists to be as much as 200 species a day. It is easy to see that the ways of the Takers are endangering all life on this planet.

Conclusion
The above represents my understanding of Quinn’s philosophical ideas. The author has given me a new way of thinking. This is what is needed. We need to think about where our beliefs are coming from. We need to understand we have all been influenced by the Mother Culture and are living in a world held in its power. Something big has got to change and each of us can contribute to that change. So what do I recommend? I recommend reading Quinn’s books and watching the interviews with him included in this blog. Hopefully you will then want to find the next hundred to spread the word!

The Ecological Park Varzea in Quinta Do Conde in Portugal

A lot more to the town of Quinta Do Conde

Map of the Ecological Park (Photo: Steve Andrews)

If you were driving through on the main road through the town of Quinta do Conde in Portugal you might not think there was much to see there. You might think it was merely a typical Portuguese town with plenty of houses, apartment blocks, local businesses, a share of restaurants and bars, as well as shops, roads, and all the usual urban ingredients.  A pleasant enough place if you lived or worked there perhaps, but not a lot else there, and not much to see. However, you would be very wrong. If you are interested in nature, ecology and gardening, Quinta Do Conde has an amazing Ecological Park known as the Parque Ecológico da Várzea da Quinta do Conde. This park is actually right next to the main road, and just minutes from the busy local Continente and Pingo Doce supermarkets, but it is a real haven for wildlife, a wonderful place for relaxing, and it even has an allotment area where local people can grow fruit and vegetables.

Turtle Lake and White Storks

Lagoa Cagados (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Ecological Park has a lake known as Lagoa Cagados, which means Turtle Lake in Portuguese and presumably refers to freshwater terrapins that can be found there. I didn’t see any any when I visited but I did see a number of frogs jumping into the water. They were Iberian Water Frogs, a species that is common here. There is a large area of swampy meadow where I have seen flocks of White Storks gather. They are easy to see from the main road and I have noticed them on my way to the shops. I expect these large birds are hunting frogs that are plentiful in the park. I saw more of these amphibians in a reedy pool but the creatures were too quick for me to get any photos.

According to an information plaque, Grey Herons also frequent the wetlands provided here. I am not surprised because there are many ponds, water canals and reed-beds. In one part there is a lookout point for birdwatchers.

Swampy Meadow Where Storks Gather (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Walking Areas

There is a system of paths and walking routes around the park, as well as areas with tables and benches where you could relax or enjoy a picnic. I was impressed with the number of small birds I saw and heard in the park, and also there were plenty of honeybees collecting nectar from the catkins of the Sallows, or “Pussy Willows” as I also know them.

Pussy Willow (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I noticed a lot of Fennel sprouting amongst the greenery, and this plant is eaten by the caterpillars of the Swallowtail Butterfly, which breeds in the park. I found a clump of Salad Burnet too, which is another edible herb.

Salad Burnet (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Woodlands

There are plenty of trees and woodland areas in the Ecological Park and many of the trees are labelled. I saw an Alder covered in catkins, and there are also Cork Oaks, Pines, and at least one Strawberry Tree. In one part of woodland I noticed a large pile of rocks. It had been fenced off and I wondered if this was intended as a place for reptiles and amphibians to shelter and hibernate in winter. It would make a great place for this. According to an information board I saw, the Viperine and Ladder Snake can be found there, as can Fire Salamanders and the Common Toad. I would not be at all surprised. It is simply a wonderful location for wildlife of most types.

Fish and amphibians (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The Allotments

Allotment (Photo: Steve Andrews)
Continuing my walk around the grounds of the Varzea Ecological Park of Quinta Do Conde, I had a look at the area given over to allotments. This area is very much for wildlife as well as people, and I noticed nest-boxes were in use to encourage nesting birds.

Nest-box (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Here in the allotment section, local gardeners grow cabbages, kale, onions, leeks and many other vegetables.

Vegetable Plot (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The plants all looked very green and healthy, and the plots of ground are watered with water from the ponds and water channels. These pools and areas of freshwater provide further areas for aquatic life, amphibians and water birds, and I could see thousands of the Mosquito Fish (Gambusia holbrooki) in one of the larger ponds. This is a fish I was used to seeing in Tenerife when I lived there some years ago. Mosquito Fish have become naturalised in many subtropical parts of the world where they were originally brought, as their name suggests, in an effort to control mosquitoes. These little fish are very adaptable and can tolerate high and low temperatures, polluted and brackish water.

Pond with water used in the allotments (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I saw a few dragonflies too and would think the park would have loads of these insects later in the year. I am lucky to have this park near to where I live so will be making many more visits and seeing what goes on there in spring and summer. I imagine the ponds will have a loud chorus of frogs and plenty of tadpoles will be swimming in the water. I love the sound of frogs croaking!

Iberian Water Frog (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Being a Butterfly

The Trials and Tribulations in the Life of a Butterfly

Speckled Wood (Photo: Pixabay)

You may think that a butterfly has an easy life because all it looks like it needs is some sunshine to fly around in and some flowers to feed from. Whilst these are requirements for the insect’s life it actually needs a lot more than that. I watch butterflies in the wild and often wonder about them. Do they manage to find mates? Will they survive the very bad weather?

The most important issue in a butterfly’s short life, which for many species is just a few weeks, is to find a mate. For a mated female, she then has to find the right plants to lay her many eggs on. Both of these seemingly simple needs can become very difficult in the world today. It doesn’t surprise me at all that very many species are experiencing a terrible decline in numbers.

Every day I walk to the local shops and my route takes me through some waste ground and woodland. I get some exercise by walking and I get to check out what is happening in the world of nature. Today I saw only one butterfly. It was a rather ragged Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) that was out and about despite the cold wind. At least it was dry and sunny. Now, this is a very common species still, and my butterfly book for Portugal tells me they can be seen all year round here, but nevertheless, it was the only one of its kind flying in the area I walked through. Imagine if this was a very rare species. What would its chances be like for finding another of its type, and one of the opposite sex?

Spanish Festoon

Last year I saw a Spanish Festoon (Zerynthia rumina). I had never seen one before, apart from in books. If it was a female and if it had already mated its job in life was to find some Birthwort (Aristolochia longa) to lay its eggs on. I have been here nearly four years, have a very good eye for spotting plants, and have not seen any examples of this plant, or any related species in the pipevine family that the butterfly can also use as a foodplant. This Butterfly Corner website about the species says: “Because of the rarity of larval food, the Spanish Festoon is not common.” This doesn’t surprise me at all, and is a very good example showing how dependent butterflies are on having the right plants available for their caterpillars.

3-winged Monarch (Photo: Steve Andrews)

When I lived in Tenerife, I remember seeing how strongly a female butterfly is driven to laying her eggs on the correct plants. My cat had caught a female Monarch (Danaus plexippus) but I was quick enough to rescue it. Only one big problem: it now only had three wings. Nevertheless, once it had recovered it flew away, only to return an hour later to the potted Tropical Milkweed I had now moved up onto the wall. The butterfly was laying her eggs and she came back every day for the next two weeks. She ignored the danger of my cat and she managed to fly despite losing a wing.

Mallow Skipper

Yes, finding the right plants and finding mates can be a real problem. I remember, last year, I saw a Mallow Skipper (Carcharodus alceae) in the garden. I know this is a fairly common species, although I had not seen one before, but what struck me was that we were in hot drought conditions, and any mallow plants had long shrivelled up in the heat. If this was a female butterfly where would she lay her eggs? Certainly not in the garden here or on local waste ground where mallow plants are common earlier in the year.

Red Admiral (Photo: Pixabay)

If you are a male Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), you are driven to look for a female of your species. I watched one last year that appeared to have set up territory in a patch of scrubland that borders on a small forest. Every sunny day I walked through this patch of ground I saw him. I guessed he was waiting patiently in the hope a female Red Admiral would fly into his territory. I am pretty certain it was the same butterfly because it was always in the same location, and there was always only one. Did he ever find a mate, or did he die a failed and lonely batchelor butterfly? I shall never know but it is something I have wondered about.

Living With A Feral Cat

Can a Feral Cat Become a Pet Cat?

Can a feral cat become a pet cat? Do feral cats ever adapt to a new life as a domesticated animal companion for a human? I had never asked these questions but am in the process of finding out. It all started about 18 months ago when a she-cat who was clearly feral turned up in the garden of the house I rent the ground floor of, and brought with her four kittens. This is why I ended up calling her “Mum!”

First of all she put the kittens behind some Physalis bushes and then moved them behind a large clump of Agapanthus in the front garden. One day she decided another move was needed and they all followed her to the back of the house, where she settled on putting them behind some large gas bottles in the barbecue area. This became their home for weeks from which they would venture forth, but if anything threatened, such as a human like me approached, they would all disappear behind the canisters under a large shelf built on to a back wall.

I already had two cats: Cuddly a neutered tom tuxedo cat that I had adopted when a girl living in a maisonette at the back started leaving him out when he was a kitten and because her puppy kept attacking him, and Bianca an abandoned grey tabby she-cat who turned up in heat with a gang of toms after her. I got her spayed with the help of the Bianca Animal Shelter, hence her name. To take on another five cats was out of the question, and illegal here. I told my landlord and he thought the kittens would end up “wandering away” when they were older. I was sure he was right but thought that that would be a recipe for future problems because they would end up fathering or giving birth to more unwanted kittens. It turned out there were two boys and two girl kittens.

By this time, I had started to feed Mum and as the kittens grew bigger I fed them too. They were all very wary of me and ran whenever I went out the back. Everyone I told about the situation said that I must get the kittens used to interacting with humans, or otherwise no one will want them. This was worrying. I began feeding them all on a table outside the kitchen window and after weeks, Mum let me touch her gently on the back and I could do this with the kittens.

She was a fantastic mother and it was a real delight watching her each day as she looked after them. As they got older they would all play chase and fighting games. They began going in the front garden and I got worried they would be in danger of cars in the road. Fortunately they all stayed safe, although one day, one of them went missing for many hours, which distressed the mother a lot, and she kept looking for him and calling out. He eventually turned up with his fur all wet and some dirt in it. To this day I have no idea where he had been but was relieved he was OK. I think maybe he went in a neighbour’s garden and had fallen in a pool or maybe someone had squirted him to drive him away. The road I live in is on the outskirts of a large town. There are very many detached houses and a similar road runs parallel behind it, and over the road from it is woodland and scrub.

The pure joy of watching the kittens grow was tempered by my very real worry about where they were going to go and could I get them friendly to humans in time. I posted lots of photos on my Facebook wall and there were loads of people saying how cute they were and how they would love to take one.

Unfortunately everyone who wanted a kitten lived in America or the UK. After daily efforts I made at playing with them, trying to pet them and touching their mother as much as she would let me, the kittens were losing their fear and I could pick two of them up with no trouble. But they couldn’t stay living here and were making attempts to come in. I had to do something and after problems with waiting for one person who failed to arrive and failed to rehome them, as she had promised, the kittens all ended up going to the Bianca shelter. I was really sad about them going but it really was impossible for me to keep them here.

Mum was upset for a day or so and kept calling out for them and wandering about looking for them but then she settled. By now she was coming inside on a regular basis. I knew I had to get her spayed and tried a local vet based with the Pet Planet store. I was told they had to do a physical examination before an appointment for the spaying could be arranged. With the help of a friend I took Mum to the clinic but she freaked out as soon as the vet got her out of the carrier. She jumped up on some high shelves, hid under benches and nearly knocked a PC monitor over when the vet and her assistant tried to catch her. After chasing her around eventually Mum was back in the carrier and the vet gave up on the examination. I thought this was very unprofessional, but could understand their point of view. I am sure they don’t get many customers bringing in feral animals for treatment.

Eventually I got help from Animais De Rua, a Portuguese animal welfare group, and it was explained to me that they would be taking her away for three days and that I would have to pay for petrol costs for Artur their driver. I agreed to this, and after a lot of difficulty catching her she was taken away and brought back days later. It had been decided that I was going to be keeping her in my bedroom for a week, and I had been told I was to try and ensure she didn’t jump about. This failed because the first thing Mum did after being let out of the carrying box was run up my curtains and leap onto a wardrobe. You can but try!

After her period of being confined to the house was through, she became a new member of the family here and went in and out just like Cuddly and Bianca. A new problem was about to begin though because Mum took a dislike to Bianca and attacked her on a daily basis. This really wasn’t fair because it had been Bianca’s home before Mum, and she was a smaller and gentler cat. Mum would run at her and scream or pounce on her. After several weeks it hadn’t got any better and one night Bianca went out early evening and never came back. Bianca had sometimes stayed out all night before but always came back for her breakfast but not this time. I know she was getting food elsewhere in the neighbourhood because on one occasion she had returned late and been sick. She vomited fish and I had not fed her this. Also before I had taken Bianca on she had been a stray. I was left wondering and am still wondering whether she had found a new home because she couldn’t stand any more attacks from Mum?

Cuddly and Mum squabbled a lot too but they were a fairer match being around the same size. Cuddly, at first was getting chased around, but then he turned and started to attack back.

The months have flown by since then and Mum has become a normal pet cat in many ways. She likes to play games with toys, she loves being petted, likes to curl up on my lap and sleeps in or on my bed. She is really affectionate and purrs loudly. BUT this is only when it comes to me. Other humans she remains scared of and will run away if anyone else comes here.  I have had to leave house-sitters to look after Mum and Cuddly on several occasions when I have had to go to the UK for a week or 10 days. Every time, I get told that Mum stays outside or out of the way when I am not here and does not let my house-sitter touch her. One managed to stroke her fur after a week of trying to make friends. Another friend of mine who helped me by looking after my place and cats, called Mum “the Wild Cat.” In keeping with this title, Mum is an excellent hunter and often catches geckos, lizards, Egyptian locusts, mice and sparrows. Many I rescue in time but others I am too late to save. She eats the birds and mice, though leaves the heads of birds. Cuddly is a hunter too and will sometimes try and steal what Mum has caught. As an animal lover I wish cats wouldn’t kill so many wildlife but I know it is instinctive behaviour. I think it would be cruel to stop my two going out because both had spent a lot of time outside before they came my way, Mum especially.

A lady I was talking to from Animais De Rua told me she had a she-cat that was formerly feral and that this cat didn’t like other humans too. I can only hope that one day Mum will accept other people, though I suppose it keeps her safe from anyone who might harm her, and sadly there are cruel people out there.

To conclude, I would say that in my experience a feral cat can become your friend and live like a normal domestic cat, but that there can be a lot of problems with them as well. Is it worth it? I would answer, yes!

How A Council Estate Like Ely Can Be A Haven For Wildlife

Gardens in Ely

Small Tortoiseshells on Butterfly Bush (Photo: Pixabay)

The Ely council estate in Cardiff can be a great place for wildlife as I found out when I lived there for 24 years. The gardens attract a lot of birds, butterflies, moths, amphibians, and at least one reptile, which is the Slow-worm. "Slowgies" the local kids used to call them. This legless lizard was very common in gardens and you even saw them in the streets at times. They are no longer so commonly found in Britain.

Slow-worm (Photo: Pixabay)

Many of the species that can be found in Ely are now recognised as being in an alarming decline in the UK, so anywhere they are still thriving is important as a conservation area. Anyone who is actively helping these creatures is doing a great job in helping preserve the world of nature. Gardens can easily become mini nature reserves! You just need to grow some wildflowers, leave some parts untended, and a garden pond always works wonders! A Buddleia Butterfly Bush will help attract these pretty insects and other pollinators as well.

Choice TV showing of my house and garden back in 1998

When I lived in Ely, I had a makeshift pond I created from an old bath that had been thrown out. I sunk it in the ground in the back garden and within a couple of years it supported a colony of Common Frogs as well as Palmate Newts.

A pair of Common Frogs in my hand (Photo: Steve Andrews)
I know Common Toads could be found fairly near where I lived too because a man I knew called Graham used to complain about male toads strangling his goldfish, which can happen. The unattached male toads will grab onto anything they think might be a female of their species.

A mated pair of Common Toads (Photo: Pixabay)
The Common Toad is one amphibian that is known to be experiencing a decline in Britain and elsewhere. All amphibians are under threat worldwide though, due to loss of habitat, pesticides and herbicides, pollution, invasive species that predate on them, and Climate Change. I am proud to be a member of SAVE THE FROGS! Charity set up to help these creatures.

Steve Andrews with SAVE THE FROGS! banner (Photo: Kerry Kriger CEO of SAVE THE FROGS!)

One of the last times I was in Ely I went to visit Parker Place the street I used to live in and was saddened to see that what used to be my front and back garden had been ruined by the Council workers, who had removed the hedge, tree, lawns and flower borders in the front, as well as the Virginia Creepers I had growing on the wall. In the back my pond had gone, as had trees I had been growing for the many years I was there, as well as a grape vine that used to attract flocks of starlings, as well as blackbirds that used to eat the fruit each year. My nettle patch for butterflies had, perhaps not surprisingly, also been removed. It was very sad to see how all my work in helping wildlife had been wrecked but I was heartened to find that Jess, who had been my neighbour, was still there and she told me she now had a pool in her back garden. It was good to know I had helped inspire this!

Moths and Butterflies

Garden Tiger Moth (Photo: Pixabay)

It is a well-known fact that many species of British butterfly and moth have been doing very badly in recent years. Once common species, such as the pretty Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly and the large and gaudy Garden Tiger Moth are no longer commonly seen.

Small Tortoiseshell (Photo: Pixabay)

They need all the help they can get. I used to have Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral caterpillars on a patch of Stinging Nettles I had growing at the bottom of my garden. I also had Painted Lady larvae feeding on Hollyhocks I had growing in the back and front. Garden Tiger Moths needed no help then and I often saw the large furry “Wooly Bear” caterpillars and the striking orange, creamy-white and chocolate-brown moths with dark blue-black spots on their hind-wings.

Cinnabar Moth (Photo: Pixabay)

The attractive day-flying Cinnabar Moth with red and black wings and orange caterpillars striped with rings of black were a common sight. They feed on Ragwort and Groundsel, both of which were common weeds. The Cinnabar has been declining as well over the past decade. I also remember having Comma Butterfly caterpillars one year on my gooseberry bushes, and Common Blue butterflies used to frequent the front lawn of one of my neighbours, who had Bird’s-foot Trefoil growing in the grass. Now I live in Portugal I often see the same species doing well on lawns between housing blocks in built-up areas. The reason being they find trefoils, clovers and Sorrel (Oxalis species) growing amongst the grass. Butterflies need food-plants for their caterpillars and nectar from flowers for their adult stage. If we supply both we will probably attract butterflies to our gardens.

Are all the species I have mentioned still to be found in Ely? I don’t know because I no longer live there but if they are, then residents of the estate can help them survive and can have something to be proud of. I am sure there must be lots of people in this vast estate who are interested in nature. Perhaps a local group could be set up? Ely is also surrounded by some excellent countryside for wildlife, with Plymouth Woods being a deciduous forest that used to have a pond and marshy area. I know frogs and newts used to live there and many birds are attracted to the wooded parts and undergrowth. Ely is an example of a council housing estate that I know, and that I also know could make a great contribution towards nature conservation. The same conceivably goes for all the other estates in the UK.

Young people need to learn about the wonders of the natural world. It gives them something to take a real interest in, and interest that can stay with them for life. All the famous naturalists, like Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham, began learning about nature when they were children. I started when I was four! I hope this article encourages more people to learn about plants and animals living on their doorsteps, so to speak, and most importantly to help conserve the natural world by making their gardens wildlife friendly.

Everybody’s Talking About American Monarch Butterflies

American Monarchs are in the news

Male Monarch Butterfly, Female Monarch (Photos: Steve Andrews)

Every time the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) makes the news it is the latest on the iconic insect’s struggles in America, where it has migrated in billions from Canada and the northern states down to California and Mexico each autumn. Over the past decade there have been reports of the butterfly’s alarming decline, due to habitat loss, pesticides, herbicides, disease and climate change. Modern farming using the herbicide Roundup (Glyphosate) on maize and soya-bean crops, is eliminating the once common milkweed species that grew in farmlands throughout the United States.  Legal and illegal felling of trees in Mexico in areas where the monarch overwintered is another big problem.

A disease known as “OE,” which is the abbreviation for Ophryocystis elektroscirrha, a protozoan parasite, takes its toll on the butterflies causing severe weakness, and cripples with deformed wings that do not live long. Some butterflies are so weak they fail to be able to emerge from their chrysalises, others that do die shortly after. It appears that OE is widely distributed among all Monarch populations. The microscopic spores are spread from infected adult butterflies onto the leaves of milkweed plants. Caterpillars that eat them become infected. OE is not a threat to other types of butterfly apart from other species in the Danaus genus.

It is very distressing to see how badly Monarch butterflies have been doing in recent years, and there is even talk of the butterfly being threatened with extinction.

Saving the Monarch

Conservationists and concerned citizens of America have been doing all they can to halt the decline in Monarchs and to help the butterfly survive in great numbers again. One of the main methods being used is the cultivation of milkweed (Asclepias) species. Many people have taken to growing these plants and rearing the butterflies in captivity by keeping, eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises indoors or in protective enclosures. The idea is to keep them safe from predators, such as wasps.

Tropical Milkweed (Photo: Steve Andrews)

The problem with these methods is that one of the most commonly grown milkweeds known as Tropical Milkweed (A. curassavica) is a non-native species that is suited to tropical and subtropical areas. With warmer weather due to climate change it is being grown in many places where once it would not have survived. It can cause a very real problem because it can build up large numbers of OE spores and become a source of infection. This happens in places like Florida where it is warm enough for the plant to grow all year around. This also means that Monarchs can continue to breed in such areas and will not have any need to fly elsewhere. Many scientists and Monarch conservation and research groups, such as the Xerces Society, are recommending that only native milkweeds should be grown. This is good advice. There are many species of Asclepias that grow in all zones of North America and right up into Canada. These plants die down for the winter and resume growth again the following year. These native species do not allow the build-up of OE on them. These endemic milkweeds encourage the Monarchs to migrate because it means that late in the year there are no food-plants available for the females to lay their eggs on. It was all working really well until humans interfered by destroying milkweeds with herbicide and then, in an effort to help, by growing a plant not native to the north American states. The Tropical Milkweed is getting a bad name but the reason is due to the very real problems it can cause in America. However, in some places there is no other choice!

Elsewhere in the World

Female Monarch on Balloonplant (Photo: Steve Andrews)

Monarchs live in non-migratory populations in many other parts of the world, including the Canary Islands, Portugal, Spain, New Zealand and Australia. In these countries there are no native milkweeds, and indeed, the butterflies have only been able to colonise large areas due to the prevalence of the introduced Tropical Milkweed and two other plants that were formerly in the Asclepias genus. The Balloonplant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus) and the Swan Milkweed (G. fruticosus) are naturalised in all the places named above and are both used as Monarch caterpillar food-plants.

Female Monarch returns to my garden to lay eggs on Tropical Milkweed

I lived in Tenerife in the Canary islands for nine years, and it was there that I started successfully rearing Monarchs. I fed the caterpillars on Tropical Milkweed, which is the only milkweed found on the island, apart from very occasional specimens of the Gomphocarpus species. It is because the Tropical Milkweed was brought to the island as an ornamental garden flower that Monarchs were able to colonise Tenerife, where it is said they were first seen back in 1887. How they reached the islands is uncertain. Now that Monarchs are on Tenerife, they have no need for migration because, although it gets plenty of snow and ice up on Mt Teide, around the coasts and in the south, the temperatures remain warm enough for Tropical Milkweed to keep growing and the butterflies to keep breeding. The situation is similar in parts of mainland Spain and Portugal where this non-native milkweed has been grown in gardens and where the Gomphocarpus species have become naturalised.

Monarch Butterflies in Portugal

Recently eclosed Monarchs (Photo: Steve Andrews)

I have lived in Portugal for the past four years, and this year I was successful in rearing four generations of Monarchs with the caterpillars feeding on plants of Tropical Milkweed and Balloonplant I managed to grow enough of in the garden here. I had at least 30 butterflies each time. The last lot of adult butterflies emerged in late November but where they went I have no way of knowing. I have cut what was left of the milkweeds down to short stalks so if any females came back they would have found nowhere to lay their eggs. I originally obtained eggs from someone I know who has a butterfly farm up in Aveiro further north. He tells me there are no Monarchs there in winter and he gets his eggs sent up each year from the Algarve. According to As Borboletas De Portugal, a Portuguese butterfly book I have, along with the Algarve, the northern coastal city of Aveiro, is one of the only places that Monarchs can be found in the country. Is this because of the butterfly farmer I know there, or are there naturally occurring wild ones, and how did they get there? I have been told that the butterflies can sometimes be seen in the Lisbon area too. Where did they come from? Did they migrate from the south? I often wonder what happens in winter. Do any Monarchs go south here to the Algarve where there are non-migratory populations or do all the butterflies in central and northern parts, such as the ones I released, simply live short lives and fail to breed due to the cold weather and lack of food-plants. There is very little information available online or in books about the behaviour of Monarchs in Portugal and Spain, and indeed in Europe. Is anyone else studying these butterflies here apart from me? Google for information on Monarchs and most of the results are about those in America.

I have had the idea that the non-migratory resident Monarch populations, wherever they are worldwide, are forming a genetic reservoir of the species. If its migratory populations ever do become extinct, the species could be reintroduced by moving some from the resident colonies elsewhere.

The Wanderer

I have wondered whether as climate change causes milder winters would the butterflies colonise other more northerly countries if the non-native food-plants grew in sufficient numbers there? Would any Monarchs eventually evolve into a migratory form like their American cousins? A very small number of Monarchs reach the UK some years but are unable to breed due to lack of any type of milkweed growing there and are unable to survive the cold winters. But the fact that they got there at all reveals their wandering nature, which is why an alternative name for the Monarch Butterfly is the Wanderer.