This Critically Endangered Florida Butterfly Has An Unexpected Weather AllyA very rare and endangered type of butterfly called Schaus’ swallowtail lives only in far South Florida, where its survival is linked to an unexpected weather twist.
Scientists looking at 35 years of population counts wondered why in some years there are more of the butterflies than in others.
Stumped for an answer, they turned to weather data. Maximum wind speeds were the clue they needed.
“The trend of increased Schaus’ swallowtail populations after strong hurricanes was immediately apparent," study lead author Sarah Steele Cabrera, a doctoral candidate at the University of Florida, said in a news release.
The research was recently published in the journal Biological Conservation.
A Beautiful Butterfly, Life On The Edge
Schaus’ swallowtails were one of the first insects to be placed on the U.S. endangered species list. They were listed as threatened in 1976, and then placed in endangered status in 1984, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Today, they are one of the rarest butterflies in the U.S. Urban development and habitat loss has shrunk their range primarily to one section of Key Largo, south of Miami, and some islands in nearby Biscayne National Park.
Population counts vary dramatically from year to year, with some annual surveys finding only a few dozen to others finding thousands.
The Hurricane Connection
In the short term, like most species, Schaus’ swallowtails take a hit from hurricanes. But they tend to rebound more robustly in the years that follow, the research found.
“Schaus’ swallowtail and its host plants live in dense forests where not a lot of light reaches the ground,” Steele Cabrera said.
It's in that low, dense foliage where Schaus’ swallowtails feed and lay their eggs. But hurricanes strip away the taller trees and expose the lower ones to more sunlight.
The smaller plants flourish and so do Schaus’ swallowtails...............
https://weather.com/news/climate/news/2025-02-13-florida-keys-endangered-schaus-swallowtail-butterfly
