Sometimes, nature’s surprises come with wings. In a new study, scientists pulled from a 35-year dataset to examine long-term population trends of the federally endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides ponceana).
Sometimes, nature’s surprises come with wings. In a new study, scientists pulled from a 35-year dataset to examine long-term population trends of the federally endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly (Heraclides ponceana). They found that the swallowtail’s population size was positively influenced by something unexpected — hurricanes.
“This study is among the longest running for a tropical butterfly, and it has been a privilege to get to work with such an amazing dataset,” said Sarah Steele Cabrera, a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida and lead author of the study.
Schaus’ swallowtail is endemic to south Florida and one of the rarest butterflies in the United States. It was among the first insects placed on the U.S. endangered species list, and since the 1980s, researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History have been keeping tabs on those living in the Florida Keys.
In 1985, Thomas Emmel, founding director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, former curator and posthumous co-author of the study, established a Schaus’ swallowtail monitoring program on Elliott Key, a remote 7.5-mile-long island within Biscayne National Park. Using a strip of land originally cleared for highway construction that spans the length of the island, field scientists surveyed butterfly populations every spring, bearing the relentless heat, humidity and mosquitoes. Their dedication yielded worthwhile results.
Read more at Florida Museum of Natural History
Image: Scientists recently found that the endangered Schaus' swallowtail butterfly is positively influenced by something unexpected — hurricanes. (Credit: Florida Museum photo by Kristen Grace)
