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Published Online June 18, 2009
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1175726

Reports

Submitted on May 1, 2009
Accepted on May 20, 2009

Successful Conservation of a Threatened Maculinea Butterfly

J. A. Thomas 1*, D. J. Simcox 2, R. T. Clarke 3

1 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.; Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
2 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
3 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.; Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Talbot Campus, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
J. A. Thomas , E-mail: jeremy.thomas{at}zoo.ox.ac.uk

Globally threatened butterflies have spearheaded research-based approaches to insect conservation. We describe the reversal of the decline of Maculinea arion (Large blue), a charismatic specialist whose larvae parasitize Myrmica ant societies. M. arion larvae were more specialized than had been recognized, being adapted to a single host-ant species that inhabits a narrow niche in grassland. Inconspicuous changes in grazing and vegetation structure caused host-ants to be replaced by similar but unsuitable congeners, explaining the extinction of European Maculinea populations. Once this problem was identified, United Kingdom ecosystems were perturbed appropriately, validating models predicting the recovery and subsequent dynamics of the butterfly and ants at 78 sites. The successful identification and reversal of the problem provides a paradigm for other successful insect conservation projects.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)