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May 27, 2016

1,500-mile stretch of highway will get plantings for bees, butterflies

  • Native prairie grasses and flowers will provide food and refuge. They also don't have to be mowed as often and help prevent erosion.
    • By DAVID PITT
    Associated Press

    DES MOINES, Iowa — Soon, passengers zipping along Interstate 35 will see a lusher refuge and more food for bees and butterflies in the hopes of helping the insects boost their declining populations, six states and the Federal Highway Administration announced Thursday.

    That 1,500-mile stretch of road from northern Minnesota to southern Texas is a flyway for monarch butterflies that migrate between Mexico and Canada, and is surrounded by acres of public land that can serve as friendly territory for the bees and butterflies that pollinate the plants that produce much of the nation's food, such as fruits and vegetables.


     
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