Researchers Capture Rare Butterfly to Conserve an Almost-Extinct Species

Researchers at the University of Florida have captured a single butterfly of a very rare butterfly species and according to them, this female could help revive the lost species.

The female Schaus swallowtail was captured in Biscayne National Park on Elliott Key May 21, 2013. Researchers collected a single egg from the butterfly and then released her. The larva will now join the other larvae collected from Keys.

The Schaus was listed as a threatened species on April 28, 1976, and then as an endangered species after a decade. There are about 800 to 1,200 individual butterflies in the wild. Climate change, habitat loss and inbreeding have been regarded as factors for its disappearance. For the current study, researchers had to obtain special permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to collect the butterfly's eggs.

"This single female could help bring the Schaus back from the brink. The larva from her egg, combined with the other larvae we found in habitat preserved by Biscayne National Park, gives us the chance to help safeguard a portion of the remaining population," said Jaret Daniels, professor in UF's Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Schaus was once found in much of southeastern Florida but is now restricted to Biscayne National Park. The recent capture of the butterfly is the result of a search that began in mid-April

"This is a breakthrough," said Mark Salvato, a Service biologist, in a news release. "We're backing the efforts of UF's Florida Museum of Natural History because it has the expertise to manage such a delicate operation and because of its long commitment to saving the Schaus."