Blue butterflies back from the brink of extinction

If you go to the quaint downtown area of El Segundo, located near Los Angeles International Airport, you may come across a small coffee shop named Blue Butterfly Coffee Co. The longer you stay in the area the more you see this same symbol show up.

The blue butterfly image is ingrained in the culture of this community because it comes from an actual butterfly called the El Segundo blue butterfly that is native to the South Bay area. Residents know that soon these images may be the only things that remain since this species of butterfly is endangered.

However, the El Segundo blue butterfly is not the only endangered butterfly in the South Bay area. The Palos Verdes blue butterfly is a close neighbor just a few miles down the coast. Both butterflies survive on one or two plants. The El Segundo blue butterfly's main food source is a plant called buckwheat, while the Palos Verdes blue butterfly survives on two plants known as rattlepod, sometimes called locoweed, and deerweed.

Since, the South Bay area has become an extremely popular place to live because of its beautiful ocean front properties. With more people desiring to move in, natural habitat must be destroyed to make room for new commercial areas.

Poster in the Palos Verdes Nature Center showing information about the two butterflies. Click for larger photo. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

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This growth of urban development is the main reason for the decline of both species of butterflies. Josh Weinik, stewardship associate biologist for the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy, provides statistics to show just how much of the butterfly's habitat has been destroyed.

"Both butterflies have lost a majority of their habitat, probably over 90% here in Palos Verdes," Weinik said.

While it may seem easy enough to just replant the same plants again after construction is complete, this usually does not help the butterflies. When the new plants are introduced they actually attract other non-native insects that compete with the butterflies.

"The El Segundo has a hard time competing with other butterflies," Weinik said.

The main population at the LAX dunes saw a large dip in numbers when a species of California buckwheat, that hosts many other types of butterflies, was planted in the area. Those new butterflies were able to out compete the El Segundo blue butterfly. Luckily, this seems to have only been a minor setback.

Weinik works on surveying different areas around the bluffs, specifically for El Segundo blue butterflies. He says the species is actually doing quite well right now with about 30-40 of these butterflies at the bluffs near the Point Vicente Interpretive Center.

"The El Segundo blue has luckily taken very well to habitat restoration," Weinik said.

Along with the conservancy, volunteers in the area are trying to raise the El Segundo blue's population numbers by planting more buckwheat along the bluffs.

The El Segundo blue was the first insect to be placed on The Endangered Species list in 1976, with the Palos Verdes blue following shortly after in 1980.

The Palos Verdes blue was thought to be extinct in 1983. However, in 1994 a small population of around 60 butterflies was found near the Defense Fuel Support Point in San Pedro. Since then there has been major restoration efforts in the area.

Poster in the Palos Verdes Nature Center showing information about the Palos Verdes blue butterfly's life cycle. Click for larger photo. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

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Conservationists are having to take a different approach to get the population back to healthy numbers. The nearby Navy base has a program where they are breeding the butterflies in captivity in hopes that they will be able to release them into the wild. There are also breeding programs up at Moorpark College and in Morro Bay.

Cristal Guzman, a naturalist and head at the George F. Canyon Nature Center in Palos Verdes, says the Palos Verdes blue butterfly is doing really well in captivity. However, in the wild it is a different story.

"They're just not doing so great in the wild because they just don't have the abundance that they used to," Guzman said.

What makes the Palos Verdes blue extremely unique is that, instead of forming cocoons in trees like other insects, these butterflies actually bury themselves in the ground. The one plant is where the pupae buries itself to transform into a butterfly and the other is the food source.

Even with conservation efforts the numbers in the wild are not doing so well. Another component that is proving to be challenging is the fact that the Palos Verdes blue butterfly's life span is very short, a mere 5 days. This is why it is so hard to get the numbers up because there needs to be enough individuals to actually mate and reproduce.

Audio

Julie Kluck from Born Free USA talks about The Endangered Species Act (ESA)

Guzman has been working with the Palos Verdes Conservatory for five years and says she has never seen the Palos Verdes blue butterfly.

This is because these butterflies have similar looking features to other butterflies. There are many non-endangered types of butterflies that are also blue and gray in color. However, the Palos Verdes blue butterfly is the only one that has a black edge when the wings are open, and small black dots when the wings are closed. The black dots on the outside are the only thing that distinguishes it from other types of blue butterflies.

The El Segundo blue butterfly is more grayish in color and has a rusty gold on the outside of its wings.

According to Guzman, the Palos Verdes Peninsula used to be an island included in the Channel Islands. This made the Palos Verdes blue butterfly extremely unprepared for change.

"When you come on the mainland it's easier to get a mix of invasive species," Guzman said.

TThe Palos Verdes and El Segundo blue butterflies are both very small, about the size of a quarter. This makes them very vulnerable to predators or being overlooked and harmed by humans.

These butterflies do have some natural predators, which include birds and lizards. However, Weinik uses these are signs of where to look for the butterfly.

"Whenever I'm surveying I always look for plants where lizards are hanging out. This is a really good indicator of where the butterflies are because lizards are their natural predators," Weinik said. "It's a great cue when we see western fence lizards crawling up into host plant that there are butterflies that have emerged and are flying at that time."

Even though the species is endangered, seeing nature working the way it should is what people like Weinik are hoping to see.

"We're trying to restore that natural ecosystem. When things are working good, we have lizards hunting El Segundo blues and Palos Verdes blues," Weinik said.

While some releases have already happened about 10 years ago, the Palos Verdes blue butterfly has proven hard to recover.

Dr. Travis Longcore, the science director at The Urban Wildlands Group and professor of spatial and biological sciences at USC, said that they are no longer able to release these butterflies until California Fish and Wildlife signs off on it. This process has been taking longer than he had originally hoped. Him and other scientists working on saving these small insects are planning to meet in January to figure out how to finalize the process. He says that the captive breeding is the only thing propping up the population at the moment and in the wild the butterflies are not doing so well.

This statement is also verified by Weinik and Guzman, who both mentioned that the butterfly population is not doing well. They believe that this is because of the development in the area and the fact that this butterfly can only survive on two plants.

Photo Gallery

Rollover thumbnail for more information. Click thumbnail to change large photo.

This is a timeline that was shown on a poster hanging in the Palos Verdes Nature Center. It shows important dates for both the Palos Verdes and El Segundo blue butterflies. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

At the bluffs near the Point Vicente Interpretive Center, volunteers have been planting new buckwheat plants for the El Segundo blue butterfly. Each green flag is where the new plants will grow. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

Coastal Buckwheat is one of the main plants that the El Segundo blue butterfly survives on. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

A sign at the edge of the cliffs tells visitors about the restoration efforts for the El Segundo blue butterfly. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

The Endangered Species Act is an important part of the effort to save these two species of butterflies. But they are not the only endangered animals in the South Bay area. The California gnatcatcher and the coastal cactus wren are two bird species in the area that are also in need of protection. All the changes that are being proposed by the administration could be detrimental to the survival of these important insects.

William Travers, the president of Born Free is also worried about how changes in The Endangered Species Act would affect animals.

"I don't like what this administration is doing in regard to the Endangered Species Act," Travers said, during a speech at Born Free USA's "Celebration of Wildlife" event.

Julie Kluck, the campaigns associate with Born Free USA, believes that her job of getting information about endangered species out there is very important because it is the only way to help get better laws enforced and passed.

"This congress definitely is keeping us on our toes with how much they are throwing out at us," Kluck said.

Kluck works on five major campaigns and feels as though she cannot keep up with all the changes that are constantly being proposed. Many new bills have proposals called riders being snuck in that are against The Endangered Species Act.

"Just within this congress, the last two years, they had made approximately 116 individual attacks on the ESA," Kluck said.

There are many reasons the people give when opposing The Endangered Species act. However, Kluck thinks there are two real reasons.

Poster in the Palos Verdes Nature Center showing more information about the Palos Verdes blue butterfly. Click for larger photo. (Photo taken by Elina Demis)

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"They are making decisions based on interested parties or groups, such as the oil companies or mining companies or development companies. Those groups that basically want to gain profit from utilizing government land and resources," Kluck said. " That kind of trickles down to money and making a profit."

It is unknown what would happen if these two butterfly species were lost. Kluck thinks that there would be some ramifications, even if we cannot see them yet.

"There's always a link to everything. When you do one thing there's a domino effect," Kluck said.

One thing is for sure, these species are needed and help tell an important story about the South Bay area. Without them, and El Segundo lose a major part of their community identity and Palos Verdes would lose an important species in their history.

"The fact that it used to be an island, it would be a real shame to lose all of it." Guzman said.