There are 760 species of
butterflies in North America and 160 of them breeds in Florida. On this blog I
will talk about the Miami Blue Butterfly, an endangered specie that is rarely
seen in North America. We went to Bahia Honda State Park for the beach cleanup,
and while being there I found a sign saying to not bother the butterflies, so I
had to do some research about them.
Butterflies are a very strong
animal! Wary, resilient, and though, they do not bite and do not carry any
known disease. These animals are cold blooded so when ever you see them in a
leaf just standing is because they are warming up their bodies with the sun. The
Miami Blue known for its scientific name Hemiargus
thomasi an endangered specie that was thought to be extinct but with the
efforts of scientists is coming back.
In 1980 a large population of
mosquitoes was affecting Florida, so chemicals were spread to kill those
mosquitoes but unfortunately a large part of butterflies also died. In 1992
Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida and with the destruction the butterflies
were gone so it was thought that they were extinct, until 1999 that they were
spotted again. And back to extinction on 2003 and once again seen again years
later. But these animals were supposed to be on an Act for endangered species
but due to lack of founding they were only considered a potential endangered,
so people did not do anything for them.
Butterflies play a big role in
the ecosystem, they are very important and even though they scare me, they have
beautiful colors. Butterflies pollinate flowers and serve as food for birds and
other animals. But unfortunately, things that humans do are making their
population to decline with the loss of their habitat, wetlands and woodlands, the
loss of ground due to farming, housing developments, and the use of pesticides.
The good thing is that there is a solution. We can help the growth of this
specie by creating our own butterfly garden, where you create a habitat with
wildflowers and away from pesticides and predators!
Sources:
Your post is very interesting. It is good that you are starting to face your fear of butterflies. It is so sad that a lot of butterflies died as a result of the chemicals that were meant to kill the mosquitoes.
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