This Butterfly May Have Been the First Insect Driven Extinct by U.S. Urbanization
The beautiful Xerces blue butterfly was a distinct species, according to a new study. It hasn t been seen alive since 1943.
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Photo: Field Museum
Scientists say they’ve confirmed a decades-old suspicion about the loss of the Xerces blue butterfly in the U.S by the 1940s. Based on genetic analysis of a 93-year-old specimen and others, they say the Xerces blue really was a distinct species of butterfly, rather than a sub-group of another existing species, as some scientists have speculated. If true, it would reaffirm the end of the butterfly as the first known insect extinction in the U.S. tied to urbanization.
Credit: Field Museum
The Xerces blue butterfly was last seen flapping its iridescent periwinkle wings in San Francisco in the early 1940s. It s generally accepted to be extinct, the first American insect species destroyed by urban development, but there are lingering questions about whether it was really a species to begin with, or just a sub-population of another common butterfly. In a new study in
Biology Letters, researchers analyzed the DNA of a 93-year-old Xerces blue specimen in museum collections, and they found that its DNA is unique enough to merit being considered a species. The study confirms that yes, the Xerces blue really did go extinct, and that insect conservation is something we have to take seriously.
This Butterfly May Have Been the First Insect Driven Extinct by U.S. Urbanisation
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The 93-year-old Xerces blue butterfly specimen used in the study. (Photo: Field Museum)
Scientists say they’ve confirmed a decades-old suspicion about the loss of the Xerces blue butterfly in the U.S by the 1940s. Based on genetic analysis of a 93-year-old specimen and others, they say the Xerces blue really was a distinct species of butterfly, rather than a sub-group of another existing species, as some scientists have speculated. If true, it would reaffirm the end of the butterfly as the first known insect extinction in the U.S. tied to urbanisation.
DNA Confirms First US Case of Insect Extinction Caused by Humans
A butterfly specimen collected 93 years ago gave researchers the DNA to prove it was a distinct species and the first American insect wiped out by urban development.
A 93-year-old Xerces blue butterfly specimen. (Credit: Field Museum)
(CN) The Xerces blue butterfly was last seen in the early 1940s in San Francisco. The small, iridescent blue insect, originally discovered in 1852, was endemic to and once plentiful among the coastal sand dunes of the upper San Francisco Peninsula, then abruptly disappeared amid habitat loss caused by urban development.
Though the Xerces blue is typically recognized as the first American insect species destroyed by urban development, questions persisted over whether it was really its own species to begin with or simply a subpopulation of another common butterfly.
DNA from 93-year-old butterfly confirms it s the first insect to go extinct from US urbanization dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.