Living With Endangered Species

Large Blue Butterfly
Photo: PJC&Co, Wikimedia Commons

The Large Blue Butterfly, Phengaris arion, was declared extinct in the UK in 1979. Populations still existed in Europe and its reintroduction from those populations has been successful. The UK is now thought to have the largest population of Large Blue Butterflies in the world.

What is responsible for the remarkable success? Most important was understanding the life history of the butterfly. The Large Blue depends on ants to collect the early stage larvae, haul them to an ant nest and feed the butterfly larvae until they reach maturity. This understanding led conservationists to create and manage preserves to support robust populations of both ants and butterflies.

About jjneal

Jonathan Neal is a retired Associate Professor of Entomology at Purdue University and author of the textbook, Living With Insects (2010). This blog is a forum to communicate about the intersection of insects with people and policy. This is a personal blog. The opinions and materials posted here are those of the author and are in no way connected with those of my employer.

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