These crape-myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) trees seem like something out of this world, standing out as strange among the other trees with their unusual bark and unmissble, even garish flowers. I have not uploaded any observations of the crape-myrtles themselves, because they are all cultivated; I ha…

I do see Bombus and Apis on them as well as some butterflies, mostly skippers. Between the crepe myrtle aphids and bark scales they do take quite a beating which does not hurt my feels at all.

Mine got aphids this year (New Mexico), which attracted wasps, flies, bees, lady beetles, and lacewings. The flowers attract Apis, Bombus, Anthophora, Megachile, and Halictus. I’ve also seen spider mites. Not great, not terrible.

Besides bees, I’ve seen that small song birds show up to eagerly pick the seed heads. Also, when the trees got sappy (aphids?), I saw many ants and lady beetle larva, and lacewing eggs; my neighbor and I saw a jumping spider on the one between our homes. Crepe myrtle are not really a waste land.

Crape myrtle are landscaping plants. Smaller than Lagerstromemia speciosa and the other related species. It is known to flower well in sunny environment. I’ve noticed tropical mistletoe (Dendrophthoe pentandra) growing on it. This means that the sunbirds or other small birds might be present to sow …

Yes, how can I forget bushtits! Everyone visits the aphid buffet.

I had a crepe myrtle in my old yard. California Scrub-jays nested in it every year. It had aphids, ants, booklice, bees, spiders, etc. in it. I once found an alligator lizard on it. Did it support as much biodiversity as the oak next to it? Not close. But any wildlife value? Certainly.

I swear I commented on this topic before but I can’t find it. I have been seeing them spread here in southeast Texas. When they are blooming they are very noticeable in forested areas as you drive by. They are starting to sprout up at a nature preserve I volunteer for. They are planted on private p…

They’re definitely able to spread; I cut down a few dozen a year in my yard that I guess come out as runners from the established ones that a previous homeowner planted pretty enough trees for landscaping but they damn well take over if you let them. I have seen very small ants of some sort on the…

[image] jasonhernandez74: or even reproducing on their own I’ve seen them reproduce although they don’t seem to be very assertive about it. They come up in my yard regularly but not excessively. I moved a couple to my back yard but mostly I pull them from flower beds when young. Elsewhere in …

They’re considered invasive in many areas, but native birds in the US (and presumably elsewhere) do eat the seeds: https://www.si.edu/stories/crape-myrtle-trees-arent-native-us-birds-find-them-tasty In Florida they’ve been documented as a pollen source for native and non-native bees: https://bi…

Has crape-myrtle any wildlife value?

Nature Talk

arboretum_amy October 23, 2022, 4:52pm 15

Or your local climate. I’ve never seen a volunteer one in Southern California. I spend a greater than average amount of time removing volunteer trees so I am tempted to talk about them at length.

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Has crape-myrtle any wildlife value?

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