Shared Moment: Pink Perfection

A milkweed oasis brings milkweed beetles, monarchs and more.

Photograph by Joan Brandwein
PhotoZone
Jun 01, 2021

THIS LITTLE MILKWEED BEETLE perched on a swamp milkweed bud makes the case that insects can be adorable. Joan Brandwein captured this portrait in her small St. Paul, Minnesota, backyard, which she and her husband have transformed into an oasis for pollinators and other wildlife. The year after planting her first milkweed, Brandwein saw several monarch butterfly caterpillars and was immediately “hooked.” Since then, this ardent naturalist has documented more than 100 species of insects visiting her native plants, including 28 bee species. “It’s amazing to see the diversity of life showing up,” she says.

More from National Wildlife magazine and the National Wildlife Federation:

Blog: Twelve Native Milkweeds for Monarchs »
2020 Photo Contest Honorable Mentions »
See Last Issue's Shared Moment »

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