Don't cut down those dead stems of native plants!

The Hummingbird Hill Native Plant Nursery took these photos with a macro lens to show how important it is to leave native plants standing throughout the winter.

The nursery reminds us: DON'T cut down the dried stalks of native plants in your garden because insects that you attracted during the warm summer months will use the stalks as winter homes. They use these stalks as larvae, eggs, or adults.

The holes the insects make are generally unnoticeable without a macro lens, because they are only 1-3 millimeters wide.