About 80 years ago, the United States first recorded insect casualties caused by human activities. New research confirmsAccording to the Florida Museum of Natural History, this insect, the Xerces blue butterfly, became extinct in the mid-20th century due to significant habitat loss. Its extinction has increased people’s awareness of the importance of ecological protection.
The Xerces blue butterfly was first described in 1852 and is known for its iridescent sapphire wings. In the early 1940s, one could see this once-common butterfly flying around among the sand dunes on the San Francisco Peninsula in its native habitat. Around that time, it disappeared from the surface of the earth, which made lepidopteran insects very frustrated.
Dr. Corrie Moreau, Professor of Arthropod Biosystems and Biodiversity at Cornell University, said: “When this species is on the brink of extinction, we somehow lose part of the biodiversity puzzle that makes up the San Francisco Bay Area tapestry.” The co-author of the study told Science news.
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Today, there is almost no tangible evidence that Xerces blue butterfly ever existed. According to its website, the Florida Museum of Natural History is one of the only institutions in the United States to collect specimens.
Earlier this month, this new study resolved decades of debate about butterfly classification. The study author wrote that since its extinction, “some people have questioned whether it is really a unique species, or just an isolated population of another biological species”, called the silver blue.Published in the July issue Biology Letters, Their discovery confirmed that the Xerces blue butterfly is indeed a unique species, which makes its disappearance even more tragic.
The authors write that by sequencing DNA collected from a 93-year-old specimen from the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History, they were able to determine that the butterfly has a unique genetic lineage. Although it is closely related to silver blue, it belongs to a different evolutionary branch, a scientific term for an individual and all its descendants.
In theory, Xerces Blue Butterfly is a candidate for “resurrection,” Moreau told Science newsResurrection, also known as de-extinction, is the practice of using cutting-edge technology (such as cloning) to bring species back from the dead. However, Moreau believes that the priorities of science lie elsewhere.
“Maybe we should spend time, energy and money on ensuring that we protect the blues that we know are endangered,” she said.
Similarly, the western monarch butterfly also urgently needs ecological support. Since the 1980s, Decline in the number of Western monarchs An astonishing 97% shocked the researchers. They say that in the next two decades, the iconic black and orange insects may follow in the footsteps of Xerces blue butterflies.
