Aug 24 -- Monarch butterflies have been declining for years, largely because it's hard for them to find milkweed, the only food source that nourishes the striped green and black caterpillars. Kate Marienchild, author of "Secrets of the Oak Woodlands," and her neighbor Phil Cool are working on what Cool calls "the monarch revolution." They're encouraging local people to grow milkweed and other plants to keep pollinators well-fed.
While everyone loves monarchs, Cool points out that birds love all kinds of caterpillars. Because caterpillars feed the birds, he says he even likes the ones a lot of gardeners think of as pests.