2 Butterfly Species to Be Protected

Two Southern California butterflies on the brink of extinction have been added to the federal list of endangered species, government officials announced Thursday.

The Quino checkerspot, a colorful orange-toned creature once ranked among the most abundant butterflies in Orange and Los Angeles counties and neighboring areas.

Today, its population has shrunk to only seven known populations on the distant fringes of metropolitan Southern California.

The second butterfly, the Laguna Mountains skipper, resides in only 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 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.

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 species announced this week.

The Quino checkerspot was once as common as the California poppy, thriving from the Santa Monica Mountains 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 dwindled radically.

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

The Quino checkerspot is about one 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.

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

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

The Fish and Wildlife Service plans to coordinate recovery plans with public and private landowners.