Description
Children’s author Dana L. Church has an innate talent for writing a spellbinding and enlightening science story for the young adult audience. The monarch butterfly has entranced the public and fascinated the scientist with its elegance and its mystery. In this adventure story, the reader learns how the insect breeds, its eggs deposited on specific milkweed leaves, which then undergo metamorphosis to produce the adult form. But problems arise with the advent of monoculture growth and pesticides eliminating the breeding source. Monarchs are becoming endangered due to loss of nectar producing flowers needed for energy, deforestation especially of the oyamel fir trees essential for monarch roosting, and even climate change. Read how scientists tagged the butterflies and even attached radio transmitters to them in order to discover their migration patterns. Imagine flights from Mexico to Canada and back. Find out how the butterfly senses the world through the antennae and other body parts. Check how scientists plan experiments to delve into the world of this enchanting insect and how the schools and citizen scientists can participate in these studies that are working to protect this endangered species. This clearly written account makes riveting reading for those seeking an ongoing nature adventure story.
