Smith's Blue Butterfly

Euphilotes enoptes smithi

Overview

Experts agree that the habitat of Smith's blue butterfly is endangered. More than 50 percent of the Seaside / Marina coastal sand dune system has been destroyed or altered significantly by: sand mining; urbanization; military activities (i.e., explosions, trampling, outdoor recreational vehicle use, etc.); construction; recreational facilities / activities (i.e., foot traffic and hang glider use); off-road vehicles; and the introduction of exotic species (iceplant and European beachgrass Ammophila arenaria) for sand dune stabilization.

Description

The Smith's blue butterfly (Euphilotes enoptes smithi) is a member of the Lycaenidae (gossamer wing) family. Smith's blue is small, slightly less than one inch (2.5 cm) across. On the dorsal side of the wings, males are bright lustrous blue, whereas females are brown with a band of red-orange marks across the hind wings. The ventral sides are whitish-gray, speckled with black dots and with a band of red-orange marks crossing the hind-wings near the outer edge.

Life History

Smith's blues spend their entire lives in association with two buckwheat plants in the genus Eriogonum. Emerging in late summer and early autumn, the adults mate and lay eggs on the flowers of these host plants. The eggs hatch shortly thereafter and the larvae begin to feed on the flowers of the plant. Following several weeks of feeding and development, the larvae pupate. Pupae remain dormant for a ten-month period, until the following year, as the Eriogonum again flower, the new adults emerge. Ants help the larvae survive by protecting them from predatory spiders and parasitic wasps. In return the tending ants profit by feeding on a sugary substance the caterpillar excretes from the surface of its abdomen.

Distribution

Smith's blues are found along the central California coast in Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Mateo counties.

Conservation Status

The Ventana Wilderness Alliance recently discovered a number of previously unknown populations of the Smith's blue butterfly on recently acquired U.S. Forest Service lands near the Monterey / San Luis Obispo county line. Dr. Richard Arnold of Entomological Consulting Services, Inc. positively identified the presence of Smith's blue at these locations.

Conservation Needs

Several sites along Monterey Bay are now being managed for preservation of Smith's blue and its host plants including a preserve established by the U.S. Army at Fort Ord, the nation's first insect-based preserve. These sites are being replanted with Eriogonum and protected from foot and off-road vehicle traffic.

Working with landowners

Information unavailable at time of publication.

Education

Education sheets available at zoological facilities (e.g. zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens with butterflies, butterfly houses, natural history museums) or events at which BFCI partners participate are a valuable way to disseminate information about imperiled butterflies.

When schools and other youth organizations study biodiversity and species extinctions they typically use examples of charismatic megafauna (e.g. bald eagles) or exotic creatures from the tropics. However, vulnerable species found within the state or ecoregion in which students live provide an excellent opportunity to develop curricular materials with a direct link to the students' home region. In addition to classroom studies, students may be able to visit sites to see the butterflies, as well as talk to the scientists and land managers involved in the species' conservation.

Educational activities that school students and community members could do include:

  • studying butterfly (insect) life stages;
  • researching the special habitat needs of the Smith's blue;
  • corresponding or meeting with the biologists managing current Smith's blue sites;
  • visiting Smith's blue sites during adult flight season;
  • visiting captive breeding programs;
  • assisting scientists with on-site habitat management;
  • propagating and growing host plants for planting at butterfly sites or use in captive breeding programs; and
  • writing letters to decision makers to ensure that the Smith's blue receives adequate resources and protection.

Research

There is a need for more surveys to find potential populations.

Captive Rearing

Information unavailable at time of publication.

Recovery Plan

Smith's Blue Butterfly: Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, 1984.

There has never been a final recovery plan for the Smith's blue butterfly. Much of the information in the 1984 draft plan is outdated but would be a good starting point for development of a current recovery plan for the species.

The primary objective of the draft Smith's blue butterfly recovery plan is to prevent extinction of the species. It could be reclassified from Endangered to Threatened when colonies at 10 identified sites have been secured; that is, when viable self-sustaining populations have been maintained at each site for five years. It may be considered for delisting when colonies at 18 (the 10 sites noted above plus eight more) have been secured through transplanting wild individuals. Viable self-sustaining populations must have been maintained for 10 consecutive years at all 18 sites.

Recovery Priorities

According to the recovery plan, in order to meet the recovery objectives the following must be accomplished:

  • Enforcement of existing laws and regulations, including implementation of applicable policies and monitoring of Section 7 (ESA) consultations and land use plans.
  • Management, protection, and securing of the 10 sites (colonies). Development and implementation of management plans must include: a) controlling human activities or limiting access, b) controlling off-road vehicles, c) revegetating blow areas, d) removal of exotic plants, and e) identifying colonies and sites for rehabilitation or maintenance.
  • Management, protection, and securing of the eight additional sites (colonies). Development and implementation of management plans must include: a) controlling human activities or limiting access, b) controlling off-road vehicles, c) revegetating blow areas, d) removal of exotic plants, e) identifying essential habitat, f) rehabilitating or restoring habitats, and g) possibly conducting prescribed burns.
  • Determination of the ecological and taxonomic needs and the application of the results.
  • Determination of population status, identification of threats to habitat, and determination of priorities for securing habitats.
  • Formulation of a management plan for implementation of restoration of native vegetation.
  • Development and implementation of education and outreach programs.

For more information

  • USFWS Contact: Diane Pratt, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, 2493 Portola Road, Suite B, Ventura, California 93003, Phone (805) 644-1766
  • Entomological Consulting Services, Ltd.: Richard Arnold, 104 Mountain View Court, Pleasant Hill, California 94523-2188, Phone (925) 825-3784
  • Ventana Wilderness Alliance, P.O. Box 506, Santa Cruz, CA 95061, Phone (831) 423-3191; vwa@ventanawild.org

References and Resources

  • Arnold, R.A., 1983. Ecological studies of six endangered butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): Island biogeography, patch dynamics, and design of habitat preserves. University of California Publications in Entomology 99: 1-161.
  • Arnold, R.A. 1983. Conservation and management of the endangered Smith's blue butterfly, Euphilotes enoptes smithi. Jour. Res. Lepid. 22: 135-153.
  • Mattoni, R.H.T. 1954. Notes on the genus Philotes: I. Descriptions of three new subspecies and a synoptic list. Bull. So. CA. Acad. Sci. 53:157-165.
  • Powell, J.A. 1981. Endangered habitats for insects: California coastal sand dunes. Atala 6:41-55.
  • Pratt, Gordon F. and John F. Emmel. 1998. Revision of the Euphilotes enoptes and E. battoides complexes (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in Systematics of Western North American Butterflies, Thomas C. Emmel, editor. Pages 207-270. Mariposa Press, Gainsville, Florida.
  • U.C. Berkeley, Essig Museum of Entomology. California's Endangered Insects Smith's blue page.
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1984. Smith's Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, OR. 87 pp.
  • USFWS Smith's blue species page.
  • Dunes Alive: The Endangered Smith's Blue and Marina Blue Butterflies

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Classification

Federal Endangered Species (Federal Register: 41:22041; June 1, 1976)

State Status

No state designation beyond the federal classification.

Range

CA

Critical Habitat

Proposed February 8, 1977. Federal Register: 42 FR 7972 7976

Acknowledgement

This profile was prepared by the Xerces Society for the Butterfly Conservation Initiative.