Monarch Butterflies Are Endangered. Here's How You Can Help In Reading

READING, MA — Monarch Butterflies are now an endangered species, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In Reading, town officials have offered tips to help preserve area populations.

Writing in an update on Thursday, the office of Town Manager Fidel Maltez said residents should learn about and remove Black Swallow Wort vines while also planting native nectar plants.

“There are some basic suggestions for environmentally concerned Reading folks to implement if they’d like to help monarchs and other pollinators,” the update read.

Monarchs breed in portions of the United States and Canada over the summer. They then embark on massive migrations to Mexico and portions of California to live out their winters.

Destruction of milkweed plants, which are crucial to monarchs’ survival, has placed the species in jeopardy. Logging and development in typical overwinter spots has also worsened the problem, according to the international union.

Milkweed is a monarch host plant. Recently, though, droughts and wildfires have limited milkweed growth. Temperature swings have also triggered early butterfly migrations, leaving the monarchs out of sync with milkweed growth seasons, the international union said earlier this month.

Reading officials have advised residents concerned about the monarchs to plant milkweed in combination with native nectar plants, which help feed the butterflies.

Community members should also keep an eye out for Black Swallow Wort vines. These plants are in the milkweed family. But they don’t actually serve as viable monarch hosts, officials said. That means eggs laid in Black Swallow Wort hatch without any available food to eat.

Black Swallow Wort is an invasive species that can encroach on fields and woodlands, according to Mass Audubon. The plants have small, purple flowers and long green pods with wind-borne seeds.

“If found around Reading, be sure to remove as much of the plant as possible,” Maltez‘s update said.

Anyone removing Black Swallow Wort material should immediately put it in the trash instead composting it.

Residents interested in learning more about native and invasive plants can do so through a list available on the conservation area of the Reading town website.