Flying Away from Extinction

The El Segundo Blue Butterfly

By: Leah Gilchrist

 

Ecology and Life History

The adult butterflies are about .8-1 inch in size. The males are a bright blue color, while the females wings are brown. However, both males and females have an orange border on their upper wings lined by dots. Before they reach their full grown adulthood that only lasts between 2-7 days, the butterflies must undergo their early stages of life as larvae. The butterflies start out as eggs that usually hatch between 3-5 days. These now larva undergo 4 instars before they pupate, which takes 18-25 days. The larva form a symbiotic relationship with ants; the ants are attracted to a sweet secretion the larva release, and in return protect them from predators and parasites. During this month as larvae, they must feed on the flowerheads and seeds to complete their development. The next stage of metamorphosis is the pupa stage, which is about 90% of their entire life. They burrow themselves underground until they are ready to emerge as butterflies. They spend their time as a butterfly near the coastal buckwheat, their main form a food. They have only 2-7 days to suck nectar, perch, mate, and then for the females lay eggs. The reason their lifespan is so short is due to crab and lynx spiders that prey on them. 

This image above displays the difference between the larva in its last instal and the pupa. Although both are similar in size (about 5 millimeters) the pupa is similar to a chrysalis, and the larva is in its caterpillar form. 

Changes in Geography and Population

The blue segundo butterfly occurs mainly in the El Segundo Sand Dunes. This is due to their food source, the coastal buckwheat, flourishing in these dunes. However, there are four other main populations located in Ballona Wetlands, Airport Dunes, Chevron butterfly preserve, and Malaga cove. The population began to decline in 1938, but we have seen the most dramatic declines in the 25 years prior to its listing in 1976. “This has been as a result of the re-alignment of the Pershing Drive, construction of Imperial Highway, moving sand to build the VOR hill, and fragmentation and scraping of the coastal prairie. The habitat degradation resulted in extirpation of many native species and the invasion of the site by exotic plants and animals.” (FWS Recovery Plan) Alien plant species were introduced to the Sand dunes population, and caused major problems between native species. There is the issue of competitoin, and native species going extinct. 

Listing Information and Threats

In 1976, when less than 500 of the butterflies were counted, the species became the first insect listed as a Federal Endangered Species. It was officially listed on June 1st, 1976. While it was at a high risk of extinction, scientists thought it had a great chance of recovery, leaving it at a recovery priority of 3.The goal of recovering the species was to get it down listed from endangered to threatened. The major threats on the species are invasive species, off roading vehicles, and human foot traffic that has been trespassing. However, the biggest change to the environment was the purchase and clearing of residences from nearly 200 acres. This affected all of the native species to the Airport Dunes. There are now security gates up designed to keep out the public of the El Segundo Dunes.

Recovery

The official recovery plan was devised in 1998 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Since the implementation of this plan, the butterfly populations have already begun to increase. In 1986, the Los Angeles Worldwide Airport, began the LAX Dunes Restoration Project in hopes of restoring the butterflies, as well as some of the other native species in danger of extinction. In their plan to bring back the butterflies, they intended to focus on protecting the coastal buckwheat since it is their main food source. The FWS recovery plan stated that the species would be down listed when the four butterfly recovery units maintained stable populations, and the public was informed about the species and their habitat. The total estimated cost of recovery was $4,436,00. Removal of the exotic plants and animals was necessary in order for the native species to thrive on there own again.In addition to removing specific species, scientists planned to do captive breeding for the butterflies, in order to help preserve the el segundo butterflies while their habitat was being restored. Many of these efforts are listed as ongoing, but we have already seen a significant improvement in the butterfly population.

 

This graph displays how the recovery plan has helped the butterfly species grow and increase greatly since the plan has been in action. 

TO READ MORE ABOUT THE EL SEGUNDO BLUE BUTTERFLY RESTORATION AREA FOLLOW THIS LINK http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/el-segundo-butterfly-preserve

Works Cited

•      "El Segundo Blue Butterfly." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. . 
•       LAX Dunes Preserve (n.d.): n. pag. LAWA. Web. .
•      Recovery Plan for the El Segundo Blue Butterfly (n.d.): n. pag. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Web. . 

Pictures
http://www.esasuccess.org/images/graphs/1324.png
http://environment101eng.weebly.com/uploads/2/5/0/5/25054349/1608490_orig.jpg 
http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-blue-butterfly30-2009jul30-pictures-photogallery.html