The fascinating and complex evolutionary relationship of the monarch butterfly and the milkweed plant 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.

About the Author
Anurag Agrawal is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Entomology at Cornell University. He lives in Ithaca, New York.

Reviews
"A lively, highly informative introduction to significant research in ecology that highlights the importance of conserving our natural habitats."--Kirkus "This comprehensive and colorful illustrated study of monarch biology and behavior ... offers another reason to admire the versatile insect: its long and successful symbiotic relationship with the otherwise toxic milkweed plant... Agrawal's book will appeal not only to butterfly enthusiasts but also to the environmentally aware and all readers who appreciate solidly written and accessible popular science."--Booklist "Epic is the only word to describe the annual journey of monarch butterflies... Agrawal's splendid book is no less epic, taking us from heart toxins and sodium pumps to climate change and illegal logging. This is important science about an iconic and sadly declining insect, made readable by enthusiastic, personal prose."--Richard Jones, BBC Wildlife Magazine "[Anurag Agrawal's] book is a minutely detailed exploration of just about everything about [monarchs]: sex lives, dining habits, internal flight guidance and, in particular, their coevolving-but-competitive relationship with milkweed."--Nancy Szokan, Washington Post "Fantastic, readable, scientifically rich, detailed... Monarchs and Milkweed is to date the coolest nature or science book I've seen so far this year."--Greg Laden's Blog



Book Information
ISBN 9780691166353
Author Anurag Agrawal
Format Hardback
Page Count 296
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press
Weight(grams) 964g