[thaddeusmt]

I remember catching monarch butterfly caterpillars, as a child in New York, and keeping them with milkweed stems until they formed their chrysalis and eventually "hatched" as butterflies. Amazing.

We moved West eventually, and I've rarely seen monarchs since. I figured it was just because of the different habitat (no milkweed), but apparently it's not just that.

All insects are amazing in their own ways, but monarchs just have that extra curbside appeal to humans. Sad to hear they are in decline.

Regardless of the link-bait/fear-mongering at play in any environmental journalism these days... I have genuine concern about growing the impact of humans on the earth. It's hard to remain optimistic sometimes, even as a technology-positive person.