![]() ![]() Since then, fires have burned and invasive weeds have established, which may have changed the distribution and health of buckwheat. ![]() The last time The Conservancy surveyed buckwheat on The Santa Lucia Preserve was almost 20 years ago. This year, thanks to a grant from US Fish and Wildlife Service, we concentrated our efforts on the protection and recovery of buckwheat on The Preserve, knowing that improving critical habitat for this species is going to be the best option to guard against its extinction. Mapping Buckwheat DistributionĮach year since 2017, The Conservancy has monitored Smith’s Blue Butterflies at several locations of The Preserve, allowing us to estimate the population. Seacliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) at Hall’s Ridge at The Santa Lucia Preserve. Once they pupate, they drop into the leaf litter and sand at the base of the buckwheat plants and overwinter for approximately eight months until they emerge as adults the following summer.įigure 2. They lay their eggs on newly opened flower heads and the larvae feed on these flowers. Individual adults live for approximately one week and spend most of their time looking for mates, feeding, and basking on the flower heads. The adult butterflies emerge from their cocoons when the buckwheat starts blooming between May and June. ![]() All life stages of the Smith’s Blue Butterfly are completely dependent on and coordinated with these plants. One of the main threats to the Smith’s Blue Butterfly is habitat loss, and for this butterfly, “habitat” specifically means just two plants: coast buckwheat ( Eriogonum latifolium ) and seacliff buckwheat ( E. Dorsal view of male (panel A) and female (panel B) Smith’s Blue Butterflies perched on seacliff buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium). ![]()
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