The mission blue butterfly is among the nations' endangered species.
Named after the piercing blue color of its wings, the mission blue butterfly is indigenous to California's San Francisco Bay area and was first discovered in the late 1930s. The U.S. government added the mission blue--scientifically dubbed the Icaricia icarioides missionensis--to its endangered species list in 1976. Does this Spark an idea?
Characteristics
Small in comparison to many other species of butterfly, the mission blue boasts a wingspan that ranges in size from 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Males typically boast vibrant blue-colored wings framed by a dark, even black, tip and white fringes. Females of the breed possess duller colored wings, often brown, peppered with a blueish tinge.
Habitat
In order to reproduce, the mission blue butterfly needs a species of plant life known as lupine, a perennial, purple-flowering plant that grows only near California's San Francisco Bay area. Because the mission blue depends on the lupine to feed its larvae, this small butterfly also resides solely in northern California at elevations from 690 to 1,180 feet. Known habitats of the mission blue include San Francisco's Twin Peaks area, neighboring Marin County's Fort Barker and the San Bruno Mountain region in San Mateo County.
Life Cycle
Mission blue larvae lay dormant for many months.
Mission blue butterflies reproduce once per year by depositing eggs, which are largely invisible to the human eye, onto the buds, stems and leaves of the purple lupine plant. This process typically occurs between March and July. The eggs hatch within 4 to 10 days. The emerging larvae will then feed from their host lupine for some 3 weeks before working their way to the base of the plant where they remain until spring. Once the adult mission blues emerge, they live for approximately 2 weeks.
Enemies
While information is scant concerning species that might prey on mission blues, researcher R. A. Aurthur cites in a 1987 report titled "Mission Blue Butterfly" that rodents and wasps pose the greatest predatory threat to the mission blue larvae.
Endangered Species
When the mission blue was first discovered more than one hundred years ago, the species thrived. However, urban development forced the small butterflies to restricted areas, and a fungus outbreak depleted the state's lupine populations, adversely affecting the butterfly population. In June 1976, the U.S. government added the mission blue butterfly to its Federal Endangered Species List. Although California also boasts an endangered species list, it fails to include a category for insects.
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