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Monarchs and milkweed : a migrating butterfly, a poisonous plant, and their remarkable story of coevolution / Anurag Agrawal.
Author
Agrawal, Anurag A.
[Browse]
Format
Book
Language
English
Published/Created
Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2017]
Description
ix, 283 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 24 cm
Availability
Available Online
De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2017
Copies in the Library
Location
Call Number
Status
Location Service
Notes
Firestone Library - Stacks
QL561.D3 A47 2017
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Details
Subject(s)
Monarch butterfly
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Milkweed butterflies
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Milkweeds
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Coevolution
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Monarch butterfly
—
Host plants
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Insect-plant relationships
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Summary note
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.
Bibliographic references
Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-270) and index.
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!
Show 6 more Contents items
ISBN
9780691166353 ((hardback ; : alkaline paper))
0691166358 ((hardback ; : alkaline paper))
LCCN
2016034053
OCLC
958799669
Other standard number
99976060143
Statement on language in description
Princeton University Library aims to describe library materials in a manner that is respectful to the individuals and communities who create, use, and are represented in the collections we manage.
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Monarchs and Milkweed : A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution / Anurag Agrawal.
id
99125195467006421