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Every bug has a purpose. Did you know that very few caterpillars reach their mature size because birds gobble them down? It is estimated that one pair of chickadees must find 6,000 caterpillars to feed one brood of fledglings. Carpenter bees pollinate tomatoes. Flies pollinate pawpaws. Gnats pollinate Jack-in-the pulpits, while hummingbirds eat gnats. Ants plant trillium seeds, and flickers eat ants. Cardinals eat adult beetles, while brown thrashers eat their grubs. It is a complicated and intricate circle of life. The list goes on and on. 
Join local naturalist Stephen Lyn Bales to learn about why “Bugs are Not Bad†at the University of Tennessee Arboretum Society’s First Thursday Nature Supper Club via Zoom on Thursday, August 4, at 7 p.m.  Eastern time.
The program is free, but registration is required to receive your link. Register at www.utarboretumsociety.org.  This program will be recorded, and closed captioning is available. 
Please contact UT Arboretum Education Coordinator Michelle Campanis at [email protected] with any questions or registration issues. To contact Stephen Lyn Bales or buy one of his UT Press books, email him at [email protected].
Due to continued concerns regarding COVID-19, the UT Arboretum Society’s educational programs are currently not on-site activities. “The UT Arboretum Society is pleased to bring the public some great online options,” a press release said.
The Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014, is one of 10 outdoor laboratories located throughout the state as part of the UT AgResearch system. AgResearch is a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction, research, and public service through the UT Herbert College of Agriculture, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, and UT Extension offices, with locations in every county in the state, the press release said.
To learn more about the Arboretum Society or for questions on this program, go to www.utarboretumsociety.org.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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