BioHavens are thick filters, made from the same resilient plastic that drinking water bottles are made of. Islands are porous though, just like the edge of the naturally occurring floating islands that they biomimic. This porous edge is optimal habitat for a vast range of pollinators and invertebrates. The porous island matrix provides security and nesting habitat for nymphs and adult insects alike.

There are times on Fish Fry Lake when damsel flies hatch. Their numbers are countless, and their colors are… heartwarming. I mean, if I have a favorite color in the world, it’s that umber red/orange, tawny amber. It’s not the most frequent color for damsels here, but it does happen. When it does, they stop me in my tracks. Dragon flies too, and their colors can be even bolder. Black and white, and many other two-color blends in artistic configurations… it’s as if a landscape artist applied micro art technique to their patterns.

These guys are accidental pollinators, as they occasionally alight on blossoms. The bees and the thousands of other insects are far more purposeful about the pollen. There will be times when a dozen various pollinators are weaving between blossoms on our biodock walkway, which is a rigidified island that doubles as a dock, with plantings to either side of the walkway.

There is an insect that’s missing from this scenario. Let me say it this way…the best place to be around Shepherd, Montana, where flood irrigation, cattle stock ponds, water tanks and such occur, is on Fish Fry Lake. The reason becomes crystal clear when you track the life model of damsel and dragon fly in their nymph stage. They look like miniature dragons and are almost as fast in the water as when they transition to their flight stage. And they love mosquitos. I learned recently that they don’t just consume mosquito larvae, but also take mosquitoes on the wing. Watch a dragonfly in flight…you literally cannot track it with the naked eye when it’s in “fast” mode. Catching mosquitoes is easy for them.

BioHavens are a way to fend off the critical loss of premier habitat associated with wetlands. They offer a concentrated wetland effect.

Now island purchasers can order pre-seeded islands planted with a blend of native flowers suitable for both, their island and their zone. The resulting flowers are true beauties, and they self-transition in that every year or two a different blossom dominates. Everything from Marsh Milkweed to Indian Paintbrush, or a spiral of yellow wetland sunflower blossoms. The changing impact on your waterscape is a true joy!

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