Overview

Each fall, millions of monarch butterflies migrate from Canada to Mexico. Their incredible journey—nearly 3,000 miles long—takes them through Oklahoma, Texas, and other US states, where butterfly devotees eagerly await their arrival. The monarch migration is a brilliant demonstration of nature’s ingenuity, but the delicate creatures face many perils, and the number of migrating monarchs is declining sharply. This compelling book weaves natural history, science, and personal experience to explore the rise and fall of one of nature’s most spectacular phenomena. While monarch butterflies have been migrating for centuries, they seized public attention in 1976 when a National Geographic magazine cover story featured the “discovery” of their roosting sites in Mexico. The article rocked the world of lepidoptery, solved a scientific mystery, and opened the door to human meddling. The new revelations put a spotlight on the insects, and inspired the creation of butterfly sanctuaries in Mexico as well as myriad efforts to protect them. Almost 40 years later, many believe that monarch butterflies are in danger of extinction. How real is that danger? Journalist and butterfly advocate Monika Maeckle addresses this question and more as she delves into the rich history and current plight of the monarch butterfly. Through meticulous reporting, Maeckle offers unique insights on the butterflies as well as a nuanced portrait of the shifting and sometimes contentious community of scientists, enthusiasts, and “flutterati” who have emerged to support the monarchs’ cause. A highly engaging book, The Monarch Butterfly Migration also focuses a wider lens on the effects of climate change and the tensions between advocacy and scientific accuracy. In addition to calling for environmental sustainability, this book reminds each of us to notice—and never take for granted—the natural wonders in our own backyards.

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9780806194561

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Reviews

"""A soaring triumph. Maeckle's crisp prose, clear-eyed perspective, and forthright passion weave a powerful story about the relationships between humans and monarchs, with wide-reaching implications for all of us. I picked up this book and couldn't put it down.""--Juli Berwald, author of Life on the Rocks: Building a Future for Coral Reefs ""A wonderful and important story--part memoir, part murder mystery, and full of the magnificent biology of nature's monarch. Monika Maeckle deciphers complex scientific and social issues in an accessible, journalistic style that will be widely appreciated.""--Anurag Agrawal, author of Monarchs and Milkweed: A Migrating Butterfly, a Poisonous Plant, and Their Remarkable Story of Coevolution"

Author Information

Monika Maeckle is the founder of the Texas Butterfly Ranch and the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival. The author of Plants with Purpose: Multitasking Plants that Thrive in Warm Climates, she lives in San Antonio, Texas, and has tagged more than 10,000 butterflies.

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