FBB on ErlaPerspectives: Fender's blue butterfly

Habitat destruction, natural succession of grasslands to forest, and weed invasion threaten all Fender’s blue butterfly populations. Legal protection, coupled with habitat restoration and control of pest plants, will be necessary to preserve this rare butterfly.--Hammond & Wilson (1993)

The Fender's blue butterfly is endemic to Willamette Valley prairies. Now listed as endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act, the Fender's blue has been the impetus behind much of the ecological studies and management actions in the Willamette Valley.

The papers and reports listed in this section discuss the basic biology and conservation biology of the Fender's blue butterfly. See also information about management of Fender's blue butterfly habitat (Perspectives: Upland prairies) and information (Perspectives: The ecology of Willamette Valley plants) about the larval food hosts of the Fender's blue butterfly, Kincaid's lupine and spur lupine.

Other photographs

Distribution map

Listing under the Federal Endangered Species Act

Basic information

Dispersal behavior and its implications for reserve design for a rare Oregon butterfly See it

Edge-mediated dispersal behavior in a prairie butterfly See it

Effects of declining food resources on populations of the Fender’s blue butterfly (Icaricia icarioides fenderi) See it

The interdependence of native plants and Fender's blue butterfly See it

Status of the Fender's blue butterfly See it

Conservation

Biodiversity and the conservation of endangered species See it

Burning prairie to restore butterfly habitat: a modeling approach to management tradeoffs for the Fender's blue See it

Effects of fire, mowing, and mowing with herbicide on native prairie of Baskett Butte, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge See it

Minimum patch size for population persistence in an endangered Oregon butterfly See it

Planting butterfly seeds: an experiment in restoring habitat for the Fender's blue butterfly See it

Rare Kincaid's lupine, Fender's blue butterfly focus of prairie restoration See it

Restoration of Fender's blue butterfly and its prairie ecosystem: Management applications of fire to Baskett Slough NWR See it

Restoring resources for an endangered butterfly See it

The status and prospects of Kincaid's lupine and Fender's blue butterfly (presentation) See it

The value of restoration and management in protecting biodiversity See it

Exotic grass invasion impacts fitness of an endangered prairie butterfly, Icaricia icarioides fenderi. See it

© 2007 Mark V. Wilson and Oregon State University