Native plants, Tallamy said, are key to attracting native insects; insects, he added, are the key to everything. “Life as we know of it depends on insects,” Tallamy said. “If you take those insects away, nasty things will happen.” Those nasty things, Tallamy said, include the decimation of other local species that depend on insects. Birds, for example, depend on insects as a major part of their diets, or to feed their young. Without those food insects, bird populations take a nosedive.
