Populations of at-risk butterfly species are declining at an alarming rate. Conservation strategies emphasize a mix of restoration of butterfly habitat, captive propagation, and reintroduction of butterflies to repopulate sites at which populations have gone extinct and to augment declining populations. We review the use of these strategies to conserve butterflies for 25 British species with Species Action Plans and 25 American species listed as Endangered, Threatened, or Candidate under the US Endangered Species Act and found in the continental US. Based on a broad review of published and unpublished literature and 47 interviews with agency staff, we find that the majority of species require active restoration (n = 47 of 50) and that most species receive restoration enhancements (n = 45), but only for a few species are ecological responses to this management monitored (n = 15). In addition, we find that most conservation strategies recommend reintroduction (n = 34) and it has been attempted for 21 Britis...

Restoration, Reintroduction, and captive Propagation for at-risk Butterflies: A review of British and American Conservation Efforts

Can captive rearing promote recovery of endangered butterflies? An assessment in the face of uncertainty

Microreserves may be useful in protecting native arthropod diversity in urbanized landscapes However, species that do not disperse through the urban matrix may eventually be lost from these fragments Population extinctions may be precipitated by an increase in genetic differentiation among fragments and loss of genetic diversity within fragments, and these effects should become stronger with time We analyzed population genetic structure in the dispersal limited Jerusalem cricket Stenopelmatus n sp “santa monica” in the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills north of Los Angeles, California (CA), to determine the impacts of fragmentation over the past 70 years MtDNA divergence was greater among urban fragments than within contiguous habitat and was positively correlated with fragment age MtDNA genetic diversity within fragments increased with fragment size and decreased with fragment age Genetic divergence across 38 anonymous nuclear Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) loci was influenced by the presence of major highways and highway age, but there was no effect of additional urban fragmentation ISSR diversity was not correlated with fragment size or age Differing results between markers may be due to male-biased dispersal, or different effective population sizes, sorting rates, or mutation rates among sampled genes Results suggest that genetic connectivity among populations has been disrupted by highways and urban development, prior to declines in local population sizes We emphasize that genetic connectivity can rapidly erode in fragmented landscapes and that flightless arthropods can serve as sensitive indicators for these effects

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Loss of genetic connectivity and diversity in urban microreserves in a southern California endemic Jerusalem cricket (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae: Stenopelmatus n. sp. “santa monica”)

Mass rearing of the endangered lycaenid Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis (Palos Verdes blue butterfly) is described Numerous problems were encountered in our attempts to predictably produce a large stock population both as insurance against extinction and for re-introduction to sites where the species has been extirpated We describe our approaches to mass rearing with discussion of all aspects of life history, difficulties with parasitoids and predators, cage design, and artificial diet use Both cylindrical cages placed over individual potted plants and outdoor tent cages were successful in providing conditions where captive individuals would mate without intervention, transcending previous limits posed by hand pairing From a small initial stock, we produced between 168 and 968 pupae each season Highest losses were experienced in first instar, with later losses from microsporidian infection Predation during pupation was also significant in semi-natural confined conditions The effort has been in progress for eight years and is continuing

Mass rearing the endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis: Lycaenidae)

Lack of basic biological information is a key limiting factor in conservation of at-risk butterflies. In the Puget prairies of Washington State little is known about the habitat requirements of mardon skipper (Polites mardon, federal candidate, WA endangered). We investigated oviposition site selection and used our results to assess oviposition habitat quality at a restored site with reintroduction potential. During the 2009 flight season we marked eighty-eight eggs and sampled vegetation at oviposition and random locations, measuring habitat variables with respect to the oviposition plant, vegetation structure, and vegetation cover. Eighty-six of the eighty-eight eggs were laid on Festuca roemeri, a native, perennial bunchgrass. Discriminant function analysis revealed selection of oviposition sites based on habitat structure; females laid eggs in small F. roemeri tufts in sparsely vegetated areas of the prairie. These results are contrary to results from a previous study in the Cascade Mountains of WA where females are generalists and selected densely vegetated areas, suggesting that the species has geographically specific habitat requirements. To assess oviposition habitat at a potential reintroduction site we measured the six variables most important for oviposition at the occupied site and a proposed reintroduction site. Results revealed differences in habitat quality between locations and suggest a need for further habitat management at the reintroduction site. Our results highlight the importance of understanding the local habitat use of a rare species where restoration activities occur and increase our ability to target habitat management where it is most needed for the persistence of the species.

Travis R. Longcore

Papers

Mass rearing the endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis: Lycaenidae)

Habitat Evaluation and Reintroduction Planning for the Endangered Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly