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<span class="articlepage-authorby" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><b><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal;">KCUR | By Celia
Llopis-Jepsen</span></b></span><b style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal;">,
</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: normal;">Published April 12, 2022 at 9:10 AM CDT</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></o:p></b></span><br>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Let’s talk about </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><i style="box-sizing:border-box">very
hungry caterpillars</i></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In Kansas and Missouri, they face an increasingly difficult time finding things to eat. That’s making it ever harder for butterflies and moths to survive.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Their populations are shrinking, </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><u style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://apnews.com/article/sd-state-wire-maryland-ks-state-wire-science-biology-767ab6cab1fad77e824149aad0e4fee9" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;touch-action:manipulation;color:var(--linkColor)"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">especially
in the Midwest</span></a></u></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">, and the birds that eat them are </span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><u style="box-sizing:border-box"><a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/bring-birds-back" target="_blank" style="box-sizing:border-box;touch-action:manipulation;color:var(--linkColor)"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">disappearing,
too</span></a></u></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The invasive Callery pear trees (also known as Bradford pears, Cleveland pears, etc.) spreading like weeds across Kansas and Missouri don’t get all the blame
— not by a longshot.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">And yet these ornamental trees with the white springtime blossoms and a pungent smell pose a significant problem. Stopping them from continuing to choke out
native flowers, shrubs and trees would bring back food for wildlife.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">This month, if you help with the effort, you can get a free native tree.</span><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Read full article: https://www.kmuw.org/2022-04-12/in-johnson-county-biologists-are-poisoning-trees-to-save-birds-and-butterflies?fbclid=IwAR2tf9JJWuK_N3oEaTr5GSnvpDqBnuS0yzgXhDywFvSpM0PZnPRkwoZYNDk</span></p>
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