The Silent Killing of Monarchs

Photo Credit: Unsplash/Joshua J. Cotten

The monarch butterfly is an iconic Californian symbol, critical to our ecosystems, food, landscapes, and public recreational spaces. The name “monarch” has had a long history in the Americas. Prince of Orange and English King William III was so adored by some early European settlers to North America they bequeathed the name “Monarch” to our orange and very regal butterfly in his honor. The monarch butterfly is also a symbol of change, transformation, and hope; in Mexican and Mexican-American cultures, butterflies represent the souls of deceased loved ones and are associated with Dia de los Muertos.

Over the past few years, a troubling trend has emerged in the conservation of this beautiful insect. Milkweed, a staple of the monarch butterfly diet, has been used in many settings to save the species; however, in this attempted revitalization we have only inflicted more damage. Milkweed sold in most stores today is most likely the tropical variant, which is extremely disruptive to the migration and mating patterns of the monarchs. Every year from August to October, the monarch butterflies migrate roughly 1,200 to 2,800 miles from the United States and Canada to central Mexico, where they find the climate conditions necessary to hibernate. The disturbance tropical milkweed (Asclepias Curassavica) causes is important, as it is found on the migratory path of these butterflies and has harmful, if not deadly effects. When monarch butterflies migrate, instead of heading to warmer climates to find native milkweeds, they flock toward tropical milkweeds planted in northern areas. They lay eggs in these regions and all of the eggs freeze before they make it to larvae because of the cold climates. 

Even though tropical milkweed is marketed to buyers intending to help the monarchs, it disrupts the periods when the butterflies are signaled to migrate. These plants are also almost all imported, carrying a menu of parasites and bacteria foreign to the monarchs. A study was conducted on non-migratory monarchs who were placed in tropical milkweed gardens and showed higher infection rates compared with migratory monarchs. This difference suggests that greater infection risk is due to the dangers of tropical milkweed and its harmful effects on the migration patterns of monarchs. In short, action needs to be taken to ban tropical milkweed in the Los Angeles area. Solutions to the abundance of naturally-occurring tropical milkweed must be considered.  

Tropical milkweed has risen in popularity due to recent demand; it is easily propagated, which allows growers to rapidly produce and transport it for sale. Even though tropical milkweed is harmful to monarch butterflies, it is still sold in retail stores, specifically Home Depot, around Los Angeles. Why? There are two main reasons for the existence of this problem. First, the abundance of tropical milkweed enables companies to sell it in high quantities at relatively low prices, which attracts the interest of consumers. Second, while the distribution of tropical milkweed is illegal in certain counties, Los Angeles has yet to outlaw its distribution. 

The first step to saving monarch butterflies would be to outlaw the sale of tropical milkweed. Tropical milkweed was recently classified as a B-rated noxious weed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. That classification means tropical milkweed has been legally acknowledged as being harmful to the environment. However, unlike A-rated noxious weeds, it can be sold and transported to California because the B rating means it must be assessed on a county by county basis. Many counties in California have banned tropical milkweed because of the classification. One of these counties was Ventura County, which banned the plant almost two years ago in a statement that called it “troublesome, aggressive, intrusive, detrimental, or destructive to agriculture…or important native species.” Even though tropical milkweeds are known to be harmful to the environment, Los Angeles County has done nothing. LA is the most populous county in the United States, and if we were to ban tropical milkweed it could spur real change. If Los Angeles took action, people would have to take notice. It would be an action confirming how much we, Angelenos, love and want to care for the monarchs.

What can you do to help? There are many things that are possible to help the monarchs. These solutions address the problem at many levels of impact from individual impact to systematic impact. 

Buy and plant native milkweed instead of tropical milkweed — Although this solution might sound simple, it is effective if executed on a large scale. The reduction in tropical or non-native milkweed in gardens or parks can significantly reduce the number of monarch butterfly deaths each year. This will also promote native plant biodiversity, leading to a healthier ecosystem. 

Support local bills that ban the distribution of non-native milkweeds — Recently, there has been a wave of local bills tackling the problem of non-native plants, including non-native milkweeds. By supporting these bills, the spread of non-native milkweed will decrease, leading to fewer monarch butterfly deaths each year. 

Donate or support local organizations that fight against the distribution of non-native milkweed — Many local organizations are assisting in the fight against the distribution of non-native milkweed. For example, supporting organizations like Save Our Monarchs that help plant more native milkweed can be beneficial. 

Get rid of non-native milkweed from your gardens — By getting rid of non-native milkweeds in our backyards, we can reduce the amount of non-native milkweed in the local area. The way to identify tropical milkweeds is to look at the color of the milkweed. If the color of the milkweed is orange, then it is tropical. If the color of the milkweed is white, then it is native.

Avoid buying tropical milkweed or plants from stores that sell it — By not supporting certain stores or chains, we can enable less money to flow to the organizations that are perpetuating the sale of tropical milkweed plants.

The crisis perpetuated by the distribution of tropical milkweed is manageable, and we have the tools to de-accelerate the sale and spread of this species. The call to action only starts when we can collectively acknowledge the problem and forge a path to a solution. Contact your local officials, plant native milkweed, and most importantly, spread awareness to others about the issue. 

Gowen, Sasowsky, Yang, and Youngstrom are 10th graders at Sequoyah School. Through Sequoyah’s Social Innovation Program, they worked together to research, write, and edit this Op-Ed.

Dashiell Gowen was born in Los Angeles, currently lives in Silverlake, and hopes to pursue a career in medicine. 

 Asher Sasowsky was born in NYC and has lived in Mount Washington for over 10 years and is interested in the fields of design, planning, or creative freelancing.   

Eric Yang grew up in Shenyang, currently lives in Arcadia, and has aspirations to pursue a career

in the biological field. 

Rachel Youngstrom was born and raised in Sierra Madre and wants to pursue a career focused on botanicals.