A Safety Net for Butterflies on the Brink of Extinction

A colorful, checkered butterfly that once ranked among the most abundant butterflies in Orange County is now so threatened that it is being granted protection under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The Quino checkerspot is one of two Southern California butterflies on the brink of extinction that have been added to the federal list of endangered species, federal officials announced Thursday.

Once as common as the California poppy, the checkerspot flourished in a wide strip along the Southland’s coast, with Orange County at its geographic heart. Museum records show that in the 1930s, it prospered in Dana Point, Laguna Lakes, Hidden Ranch and Irvine Regional Park.

But today, only six known populations remain in the United States--and while some of the butterflies may remain in Orange County, they have not been officially recorded.

The second butterfly to be listed this week, the Laguna Mountains skipper, resides only in five areas of San Diego County, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Environmentalists have fought for years to win federal protection for the two fragile butterfly species, calling them compelling examples of how swiftly some native Southern California animals and plants are approaching extinction amid encroaching development and fast-vanishing habitat.

“These are two animals that are in big trouble,” said Chris Nagano, entomologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In fact, butterflies serve as “barometers of environmental quality,” with their numbers shrinking rapidly as the environment changes. Yet with their feeding, pollinating and reproductive activities, the insects serve a crucial role in the survival of flowering plants and food crops, federal experts said.

Of the roughly 700 species of butterflies in North America, 225 can be found in California.

Ten of the butterfly species in the state are now on the federal endangered species list, including the two new species announced this week.

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The Quino checkerspot once thrived from the Santa Monica Mountains south to northern Baja California, said Rudi Mattoni, a butterfly expert who teaches conservation biology at UCLA.

But as Los Angeles and its suburbs spread, the butterfly’s numbers thinned radically.

As recently as the early 1980s, Mattoni said, he and his colleagues witnessed a robust community of Quino checkerspots in the Gavilan Hills of Riverside County.

“Three of us were able to catch about 100 butterflies in 30 to 40 minutes,” Mattoni said. “Collecting them was nothing. You just stood in one spot and swung your net.”

But the land where those butterflies thrived was later plowed, and other populations fell prey to development.

“Here’s a butterfly on the verge of extinction that used to be one of our landmark butterflies,” Mattoni said.

“The butterfly is in pretty bad shape, no question about it,” he said. “Whether we’ll be able to save it, God only knows.”

The Quino checkerspot is about 1 inch long and is named for its checkered pattern of orangish, yellowish and dark brown spots. Since 1900, about 50% to 75% of its range has been lost to urbanization, agriculture and the invasion of nonnative plants, federal officials said.

Several populations, each probably numbering several thousand butterflies, were documented in Orange County as recently as the 1930s, Nagano said.

But in a grim 1977 update, a UC Irvine entomologist reported how he searched in vain in such spots as Irvine Regional Park near Orange and the Black Star Canyon hills, unable to find any remaining colonies.

Today, experts know of only six U.S. populations, in southwestern Riverside and San Diego counties, and at least one population that remains near Tecate, Mexico.

The small, checkered Laguna Mountains skipper is found in meadow areas of the Laguna and Palomar mountains in San Diego County.

It has been rare for as long as 20 to 55 years, largely because of habitat destruction and cattle grazing, according to Fish and Wildlife officials, who said that the largest remaining skipper population may contain only 240 butterflies.

Jack Levy, a butterfly expert and research associate at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, said the numbers may actually be smaller.

He expressed concern about what it means for species to be shrinking to such small numbers.

“I’m worried that the public doesn’t really realize very well how many things are becoming scarce, and none of us really know the consequences of losing a large part of our biodiversity,” Levy said. “Extinction is forever.”

Butterfly advocates petitioned for federal protection for the Quino checkerspot in 1988 and for the skipper in 1991, but a yearlong moratorium on listings helped delay their addition.

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More butterflies could have been saved if the federal government had acted sooner, said Dave Hogan of the Southwest Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson, an environmental group that went to court to speed the butterflies’ listing.

“They’d just been sitting on it,” Hogan said.

“We’ve waited too long, and a lot of damage has been done. But maybe we can get started on protecting the species now,” he said.

The endangered listing for the two butterflies was published Thursday in the Federal Register.

The Fish and Wildlife Service plans to coordinate recovery plans with public and private landowners, including the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, both of which have butterflies on their land.

Such plans could include restoring and enhancing habitat, fencing to protect the butterflies’ host plants and rearing butterflies and releasing them on sites owned by willing landowners.

The listing became effective immediately, without the typical 30-day waiting period, because of concerns that collectors would rush to gather butterflies before the deadline.

“We do know there is a market for these animals, so it was a real possibility,” Nagano said.

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Now on the List

Habitat destruction is the main reason two butterflies were placed on the federal list of endangered species. A glance at both of the new entrants:

LAGUNA MOUNTAINS SKIPPER ( Pyrgus ruralis lagunae )

Habitat: Open meadows of pine forest, 5,000-6,000 feet

Local location: Mountain meadows of Laguna and Palomar mountains in San Diego County

Largest known population: 240, on Palomar Mountain

Description: Extensive white markings on wings, one-inch wingspan

When active: April through late July

Why it’s endangered: When skippers mate, eggs are laid on a relatively rare host plant, Cleveland’s horkelia. Destruction and degradation of the host by grazing and trampling by domestic cattle have made it a rare species for 20-55 years.

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QUINO CHECKERSPOT ( Euphydryas editha quino )

Habitat: Sunny open shrub and grasslands

Local locations: Six populations in southwestern Riverside and north-central San Diego counties; near Tecate, Mexico

Description: Checkered pattern of dark brown, reddish and yellow spots

When active: Mid-January to late April

Life span note: Lives only 4-8 weeks, but can take up to eight months to develop from larva

Why it’s endangered: Approximately 50%-75% of range destroyed by development, agriculture and invasion of nonnative plants

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service