Captivated by the Flutter of the Butterfly
Who isn’t captivated by the flutter of the butterfly? Dressed in shimmering shawls of jewel-like colors, their graceful dance with the wind can capture the glance of even the most unobservant eye. Their delicacy and playful mood as they frolic in the afternoon sun charm us all. Butterflies are indeed some of the most beautiful creatures on the earth. Not only are they beautiful, but as pollinators of all sorts of plants, they’re necessary to keep our ecosystem in balance. The wings, bodies, and legs, like those of moths, are covered with dust-like scales that blow away if the butterfly is handled. Unlike moths, butterflies are active during the day. Perhaps the most distinctive physical features of the butterfly are its club-tipped antennae and its habit of holding the wings vertically over the back when resting.
The Monarch, King of the Butterflies
Some entomologists claim that the Monarch butterfly is the most beautiful of all the species. It is the most recognizable and iconic insect in North America. The eastern North American monarch population is notable for its annual southward late summer/autumn instinctive migration from the northern and central United States and southern Canada to Florida and Mexico. The monarch is considered the “king” of the butterflies, hence the name “monarch.” The name "monarch" is believed to have been given in honor of King William the III of England and the butterfly's main color is that of the king's secondary title, Prince of Orange.
Female Monarch Butterfly
As all butterflies, they begin with an egg, hatch into larvae (a caterpillar), and then wrap themselves in the warm, fuzzy blanket known as a cocoon. Being nourished for a period of time they are then ready to display their beauty to the world. The monarch is the only insect that can travel up to 2500 miles to migrate to escape the cold temperatures of winter. It also has a poisonous chemical that protects it from frogs, birds, mice and lizards. Truly, they are one of nature’s miracles.
There are 17,500 species of butterflies in the world and nearly 750 species in the United States. Unfortunately, many are either endangered or vulnerable due to habitat destruction, and human collectors. Some butterflies have always been rare, but due to habitat destruction they have become even more rare over the past few decades. I have chosen to focus on five of the rarest butterflies in the world.
Rare Butterflies on the Earth
Lange’s Metalmark - There are no more than a few hundred of these fragile, beautiful Lange's Metalmark butterflies (Apodemia mormo langei) left in the world. They have brown and orange coloring on their wings with white spots. They live only in the sandy area restricted to sand dunes along the southern bank of the Sacramento River in Contra Costa County, California where they eat only buckwheat leaves.
Lange’s Metalmark Butterfly
These butterflies are highly endangered and have been protected by the Federal Endangered Species Act since 1976. Both their habitat and food have been badly disrupted by human settlement. Fortunately, the Lange's Metalmark habitat is now part of the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge. These butterflies produce one brood in a season. Adults emerge in early August and can be observed until mid or late September. The peak in male emergence generally occurs earlier than that of females.
Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing - With a wingspan of about 11 inches and weighing as much as .42 ounces, the Queen Alexandra's Birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) is the largest butterfly in the world. Living only in the forests of the Oro Province in eastern Papua New Guinea, it has few predators but is highly endangered because of habitat destruction. The species was named in 1906 for Queen Alexandra of Denmark. Their wings are brown and white, but the smaller males are sparkling blue-green and banded in black, with a green or blue-green underside.
Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing Butterfly
Because it is so rare and endangered, the trade in these butterflies is illegal. Adults feed on hibiscus and other plants strong enough to support their weight early in the morning and early in the evening. Males are territorial and will even scare off small birds. Humans aren’t the only reason that the butterfly is endangered. It still hasn’t recovered from a volcanic eruption that wiped out much of its habitat in 1951.
Interestingly enough, the butterflies feed on poisonous plants. However, the caterpillar is not affected by the poison and can retain it within its own body making it poisonous to other animals.
Schaus Swallowtail – You will need to head to Florida to see the Schaus Swallowtail or Island Swallowtail (Papilio aristodemus ponceanus), named for a Miami-based butterfly collector and entomologist. These middle-sized beauties can fly over 5 km miles in a day, which means they can travel between the Florida Keys. The Schaus Swallowtail once ranged throughout the hardwood hammock habitats in southern Florida but is now considered extremely endangered as a result of habitat loss and pesticide use. However, they can also be found in the West Indies.
Schaus Swallowtail Butterfly
Its habitat consists of tropical hardwood hammocks and the surrounding area where it enjoys guava nectar and wild tamarind, the butterfly’s food of choice. This butterfly has a slim reproductive window only present once per year from mid-May to mid-June. Combined with their limited range and small population numbers, they are facing a real risk of extinction.
As a productive pollinator and an important component of the food chain, the Schaus Swallowtail is indicative of ecological function. This butterfly is known as an indicator species: where there is a swallowtail, there is a healthy ecosystem.
Zebra Longwing - The amazing Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) has an unusually large range; they can be found across South and Central America, Texas, Florida, and beyond. They also migrate to other parts of the U.S. during the summer. The butterflies' stripes help deter predators, as does their habit of roosting in very large groups of 60 or more. The coloration of this butterfly reminds people of the black and white stripes of a zebra even though if you look closely there are red spots at the base of the wings, which have a span of 2.8 to 3.9 inches. It is native to South and Central America and can be found in some parts of the southern United States. This makes its range unusually large for a butterfly.
Zebra Longwing Butterfly
Moreover, they are unusual for butterflies in that they eat pollen, and their bodies transform it into chemicals that make the butterfly toxic. Not only this, the ingestion of pollen makes the Zebra Longwing have a longer life span than other butterflies. As of 2021, the butterfly’s conservation status is secure, but pesticides have devastated its Florida population. Like honeybees, the butterfly has also suffered colony collapse.
Blue Morpho – One of the most striking and beautiful butterflies in the world is the Blue Morpho. Its wingspan is approximately 12 cm (4.7"), and its dorsal forewings and hindwings are a bright, iridescent blue edged with black, while the ventral surfaces are brown. Its iridescent wings are an area of interest in research because of their unique microstructure. Due to its characteristic blue color, it is considered valuable among collectors and was widely hunted in the 20th century.
Blue Morpho Butterfly
The Blue Morpho has a relatively short life span of about 115 days. Most of this time is spent on finding and eating the fruit they need to survive. Both sexes have a slow and floppy flight pattern and feed on rotting fruit that has dropped to the ground. They can be found in the rainforest and tropical areas of Latin America, from Mexico to Colombia. In addition to natural predators such as the jacamar bird, these butterflies are suffering from habitat loss and from the interest of human collectors. To find out more about other butterflies that are rare and on the endangered list check out the links at the bottom of the page.
What can we do to preserve the population of Butterflies?
Below are a few ways in which we can be active in preserving the population of butterflies to ensure their survival for future generations.
Participate in community science to learn more.
Record sightings of butterflies that are not indigenous to your area.
Do not handle the butterfly.
Report any website or individual attempting to sell specimens of the butterfly.
Be mindful of pesticide and insecticide use, or avoid it completely if possible.
Plant Milkweed as it is the only host plant for monarch caterpillars.
Plant a wildlife garden with native plants that provide food, water, and cover for butterflies to lay their eggs.
Support the conservation of grasslands as they provide healthy habitats for butterflies.
Purchase a butterfly growing kit.
Footnotes: 14 Incredibly Rare Types of Butterflies (treehugger.com); 10 Rarest Butterflies In The World - A-Z Animals (a-z-animals.com), Tell Me About: Schaus Swallowtail – Thompson Earth Systems Institute (ufl.edu)