Buckwheat and the El Segundo Blue
Butterfly
BY KATHY VILIM
Male-and-Female-El-Segundo-Blue-Sterba (Euphilotes battoides
allyni)
Photo ©Don Sterda and Friends of Ballona Wetlands
Nothing
warms my heart quite like hearing the happy news that butterflies are
flourishing~ somewhere. Rarely do we get good news about our winged
friends lately. But this story is one of hope and promise!
The
El Segundo Blue (Euphilotes battoides allyni) is a pretty light blue
butterfly that is found nowhere but in So California and is federally
designated as Endangered. This butterfly is named for the dune system
where it makes its home. There are only three known colonies still
existing, and the largest is located on a small area of land owned by Los Angeles
International Airport and maintained as the El Segundo Blue Butterfly Habitat
Preserve, which was created in an effort to protect this rare
species. (The land was formerly known as Palisades del Rey.)
El-Segundo-Blue (Euphilotes battoides allyni)
Photo © Patrick Tyrrell, Program Director at Friends of Ballona
Wetlands
The
Good News: Recently it was reported that the El Segundo Blue Butterfly re-established
itself in a small area of the wetlands about half-mile away from the LAX site.
More than (100) butterflies have been seen near the Ballona Wetlands. The El Segundo Blue’s
population in the Ballona Wetlands has increased steadily over the past seven years. Ecologists believe that the El Segundo Blues found in the Ballona
Wetlands moved there from the LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) preserve,
as the El Segundo Blue is not a highly migratory species. It will not travel
outside of 400 feet from home to find food. This bodes well for the return
of other endangered species to the wetlands and tells that restoration efforts
are working.
Eriogonum parvifolium (Dune Buckwheat Detail)
Photo © 2006 Steve Matson
Naturalists
are delighted to find that the small blue butterflies are making use of the
Coastal (Dune) Buckwheat (Eriogonum parviflorum). After an intensive
effort by volunteers to remove invasive iceplant (native to China), the
native Buckwheat had more room to grow. Corridors opened up making room to
plant more Buckwheat, as well. The volunteers are part of the nonprofit Friends of Ballona Wetlands. Coastal Dune Buckwheat (Eriogonum
parviflorum) is the sole food source of the Blues, and they will also use
the Buckwheat to lay eggs, as it is their host plant.
About
the Blues: The El Segundo Blue Butterfly, in the family Lycaenidae, emerges
during summer when the flowers of its host plant, Coastal Dune Buckwheat (Eriogonum
parviflorum) open. The adults live only a few days, during which time they
will mate and lay eggs. Within a week, the eggs will hatch, and the
larvae will feed entirely on the flower heads of their host
plant. El Segundo Blue spends virtually its entire life cycle in intimate
association with the flower heads of just this one species of buckwheat.
The
El Segundo Blue’s dorsal wing color is blue, with the males being brighter blue
than the females. The ventral side is gray, with square-shaped spots and a
series of orange spots on the hindwing that appear merged into a single band of
color.
El-Segundo-Blue Butterfly on Dune Buckwheat,
Photo © Patrick Tyrrell, Program Director Friends of Ballona Wetlands
The
El Segundo Blue has found its home increasingly coveted by humans. One of the
last remaining populations lives by the Los Angeles International Airport. The
airport’s construction, oil refining, sand mining and urban development have
all claimed large portions of its dune habitat, which used to be more extensive.
Though the threat of development has been largely halted, there
are other threats, as well. Their host plant is competing with several
introduced plants, including other Buckwheat Eriogonum species
on which the El Segundo Blues cannot feed.
In
order to ensure the future of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (USFWS) has started dune management programs which focus
on restoring the sites’ native vegetation. The Urban Wildlands Group has
applied to the USFWS for an enhancement of survival permit and safe harbor
agreement for approximately two acres of bluff habitat on private property in
Los Angeles County, California. I have written previously about the Ballona Wetlands, and the how important this
preserve is to so much wildlife, as one of the last remaining wetlands in
California. As time goes on, I hope that this place will remain safe for
many generations of wetland wildlife to continue to prosper.
As
you might expect, the folks at Friends of Ballona are excited! Their message to
volunteers, “Stay tuned – this is one
of our most exciting developments in years – a DIRECT result of our restoration
efforts!”
Dune Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium)
Photo ©Charles Webber California Academy of Sciences
