We live in Arkansas, the Natural State, but what is nature?
A native plant is one that is part of the food web around it. This isn't true of manicured lawns, Bradford pear trees or burning bushes just to name a few plants in the typical landscaped yard.
Plants are the center of nature's food web, but most plant-eating insects only eat a few types of plants; those they have evolved with over thousands of years. A yard with Kentucky bluegrass, Japanese maples and Chinese privet is not much better for Arkansas birds and butterflies than a yard paved over with concrete.
What can you do? Landscape with Arkansas native plants.
For more on what we know about how the food web works, watch Dr. Douglas Ptolemy's videos on YouTube.