Melanie, good read, enjoyed very much, TY!
I've seen a lot of progress in the past few decades regarding people's understanding of backyard nature in general. (Agriculture notwithstanding,) I think the chemical thing reached its' peak in the middle of the last century, and the attitude that one must control every bit of nature on their property and plants, and anything eating or otherwise affecting the landscaping must be killed, both prophylactically and reactively. The internet has helped a lot with that, the wealth of instantly available info, and the kind, concerned, responses to questions as described above, gently and respectfully supplied unsolicited info. I've never had anyone who wasn't extremely interested when explaining that the caterpillars about which they were concerned were on their way to becoming beautiful butterflies - if left alone in a non-toxic environment. (Not that all caterpillars have such a positive outcome, but those are still bird/frog/toad/anole food.)
Interesting sidebar about Catalpa caterpillars (called catawba worms) around this area. Many people maintain coppiced Catalpa trees to more easily harvest the cats because they are excellent fishing bait. Mixed feelings to be had, obviously, but most Catalpa trees are not coppiced or 'harvested,' and at least these harvest trees aren't being sprayed with something gross.
