Submitted
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. 
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