Ecologist Eric Lee-Mäder and noted botanical artist Beverly Duncan have teamed up to create this unique exploration of the complex ecosystem that is supported by the remarkable milkweed plant, often over-looked or dismissed as a roadside weed. With stunning, up-close illustrations and engaging text, they trace every stage of the plant's changes and evolutions throughout the seasons, including germination, growth, flowering, and seed development. Simultaneously, they chronicle the lives of the many creatures whose lives are intertwined with the milkweed: monarch butterflies; soldier and queen butterflies; milkweed tussock moths; large and small milkweed bugs; milkweed weevils; bumble bees; goldfinches; and more. The delightful illustrations and illuminating text give the reader the feeling of browsing an avid naturalist's sketchbook, while also learning about different milkweed species, how to propagate milkweed in the garden, the industrial uses of milkweed, interesting milkweed relatives, and more. AUTHOR: Eric Lee-Mäder is the Pollinator Program Co-Director at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, and co-owner of Northwest Meadowscapes, a native seed farm located on Whidbey Island specializing in pollinator-friendly native flowers and grasses. He is lead author of several Xerces books, 100 Plants to Feed the Bees, Attracting Native Pollinators, and Farming with Native Beneficial Insects. Beverly Duncan is a contemporary botanical artist who focuses on watercolor paintings that incorporate flora and fauna of a place and a season. Her work has been featured in numerous publications and her paintings were awarded ?Best of Show? at the ASBA at the Horticultural Society of New York exhibition. She is on Instagram as beverlykduncan. SELLING POINTS: . Timely topic for monarch conservation. Recently added to the endangered species list, monarch butterflies are dependent on milkweed, the only host plant for this iconic butterfly species. According to the National Wildlife Federation: ?Milkweed is critical for the survival of monarchs. Without it, they cannot complete their life cycle and their populations decline. Indeed, eradication of milkweed both in agricultural areas as well as in urban and suburban landscapes is one of the primary reasons that monarchs are in trouble today.? . Fascinating exploration of the milkweed's total ecosystem. This formerly ignored and often maligned wild plant, native to North America, is an ecosystem of living things that live on, around, or within it. In addition to feeding monarchs, the milkweed plant's tall and multi-storied structure hosts a plethora of insects from specially adapted monarch beetles to ants, aphids, and spiders . Unique collaboration between an ecologist and a noted botanical illustrator. Eric Lee-Mäder, of the Xerces Society, and prize-winning artist botanical Beverly Duncan have combined their talents and avid fascination with milkweed to create a richly layered visual guide, with engaging text and up-close sketchbook illustrations
