An invasive weed is taking over gardens across Greater Boston, including Jamaica Plain and East Boston.
Monarch butterflies in danger
The weed – black swallow-wort – is having a deadly impact on wildlife, especially the monarch butterfly population, said Mass Audubon Senior Conservation Ecologist Flavio Sutti.
“It’s one of the most challenging aspects of my work because it’s very hard to control them,” Sutti said. “They are one of the causes that decreases biodiversity. For example, they have an impact on rare species because they take away their habitat.”
Monarch butterflies, in particular, are impacted because the black swallow-wort is in the same family as milkweed, where monarch butterflies lay their eggs…