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Now Landing Near LAX: More Endangered Butterflies!
Photo by stonebird via Flickr
Things are looking up for the El Segundo Blue Butterfly, an endangered species that flutter about a preserve located near Los Angeles International Airport: Their population has risen about 8 percent over the last year.
"An entomology consulting firm placed the population of the butterfly in the 200-acre Dunes Habitat Preserve west of LAX at between 120,610 and 125,920," reports City News Service.
The El Segundo Blue Butterfly has struggled to survive in the wake of urban growth:
The El Segundo blue historically resided in El Segundo sand dunes, whose active area historically covered about 4.5 square miles (1295 hectares, 3200 acres), including interrupted extensions to the north into what is present-day Ocean Park, and southerly to Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes. The butterfly is now restricted to three locations in what is left of those dunes.
The butterfly also happened to be among the first insects put on the federal endangered species list back in 1976. The city department that owns LAX created the Dunes Habitat in 1986 with a goal of preserving the coastal buckwheat plant, which is the only source of food for the El Segundo Blue Butterfly.
An uptick in population is welcome news for these beautiful little creatures.
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