About 150 butterfly species are found throughout Florida. 15 of those species are found only in extreme southern Florida and the Florida Keys. Continued expansion of urban development and widespread use of pesticides used to control mosquito populations have put many of these species in jeopardy.
This is part four of a seven part series covering Florida’s imperiled butterflies.
Florida Leafwing
The Florida Leafwing (Anaea troglodyta floridalis) is a medium sized butterfly endemic to Florida. The top sides of their wings are red to reddish brown and the undersides are tan to gray. The wing edges have a cryptic shape that helps this butterfly blend into foliage and look just like a dead leaf.
Adults tend to feed on rotting fruit, dung and other non-nectar food sources. Males often perch and wait for females and this butterfly is often found hanging upside down from branches which helps to further impress upon predators the appearance of a dead leaf.
This species is considered critically imperiled and extremely rare. Surviving only in a few pink rockland habitats, this butterfly is especially in danger of extinction because of habitat loss. In recent survey efforts, this species has been found less frequently than before, even in areas where it was once fairly common such as Big Pine Key. It is estimated that there are as few as 100-800 adults surviving in the wild at any one time and that this butterfly may now be more scarce than the endangered Schaus Swallowtail.
This species is not currently listed in Florid or in the United States and an endangered species and no management plan has been created for its survival. With so few butterflies surviving in the wild, this population will likely become extinct without special assistance and management.
You can read more about this species and survey efforts at the US Fish and Wildlife Species Assessment and Listing Priority Assignment Form for the Florida Leafwing butterfly.
Pine Rocklands
Like the similarly rare Bartram’s Hairstreak butterfly, this unusual butterfly species is only found in pine rockland ecosystems and hosts only on pineland croton (Croton linearis). The pine rockland is a particularly rare ecosystem in which South Florida slash pine (Pinus elliottii var. densa) dominates the canopy while palms and other hardwoods form a sub-canopy. These small forests occur in Big Cypress National Preserve, the lower Florida Keys, and along the Miami Rock Ridge where limestone outcroppings provide a relatively high elevation.
Learn more about Florida’s pine rocklands at the Institute for Regional Conservation.
Possible sighting in Inverness, FL 7/12/11, by J. Hand. Butterfly was dark and medium brown, looked exactly like a dead leaf. When I went to pick it up from the window sill, was amazed that it was a butterfly. Top of wings was also a medium brown. Sighted very near Whispering Pines Park, in town.
ReplyDeletePossible sighting 7/12/11 Inverness FL 3:20 PM near Whispering Pines Park, in town. Thought it was a dead leaf, dark to medium brown when spotted, medium brown top of wings. Approximately 1-1/2 inches in length when sitting with wings folded.
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