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E-book
Author Agrawal, Anurag A., author.

Title Monarchs and milkweed : a migrating butterfly, a poisonous plant, and their remarkable story of coevolution / Anurag Agrawal
Published Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2017

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Description 1 online resource (ix, 283 pages) : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps
Contents Welcome to the monarchy -- The arms race -- The chemistry of medicine and poison -- Waiting, mating, and migrating -- Hatching and defending -- Saving up to raise a family -- The milkweed village -- The autumn migration -- Long live the monarchy!
Summary Monarch butterflies are one of nature's most recognizable creatures, known for their bright colors and epic annual migration from the United States and Canada to Mexico. Yet there is much more to the monarch than its distinctive presence and mythic journeying. In Monarchs and Milkweed, Anurag Agrawal presents a vivid investigation into how the monarch butterfly has evolved closely alongside the milkweed--a toxic plant named for the sticky white substance emitted when its leaves are damaged--and how this inextricable and intimate relationship has been like an arms race over the millennia, a battle of exploitation and defense between two fascinating species. The monarch life cycle begins each spring when it deposits eggs on milkweed leaves. But this dependency of monarchs on milkweeds as food is not reciprocated, and milkweeds do all they can to poison or thwart the young monarchs. Agrawal delves into major scientific discoveries, including his own pioneering research, and traces how plant poisons have not only shaped monarch-milkweed interactions but have also been culturally important for centuries. Agrawal presents current ideas regarding the recent decline in monarch populations, including habitat destruction, increased winter storms, and lack of milkweed--the last one a theory that the author rejects. He evaluates the current sustainability of monarchs and reveals a novel explanation for their plummeting numbers. Lavishly illustrated with more than eighty color photos and images, Monarchs and Milkweed takes readers on an unforgettable exploration of one of nature's most important and sophisticated evolutionary relationships
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-270) and index
Notes Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) Award of Excellence in Gardening & Gardens, 2018
Print version record
Subject Monarch butterfly.
Milkweed butterflies.
Milkweeds.
Coevolution.
Monarch butterfly -- Host plants
Insect-plant relationships.
Asclepias
SCIENCE -- Life Sciences -- Zoology -- General.
NATURE -- Animals -- Butterflies & Moths.
Coevolution
Milkweed butterflies
Milkweeds
Monarch butterfly
Insect-plant relationships
Genre/Form Electronic books
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781400884766
1400884764