Butterflies need plants. The life cycle of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly (Euphilotes battoides allyni) is a great example of this.

The life cycle of the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly depends entirely on the Coast Buckwheat (Eriogonum latifolium) plant. The plant’s flowers are where adults lay eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the flowers become food for the hungry caterpillars, which then burrow into the soil at the plant’s roots to become pupae. In the summer, the cycle begins again as butterflies emerge from the pupae in the ground. Without Coast Buckwheat, this life cycle is not possible and the El Segundo Blue Butterfly would no longer exist. 

To learn more about the El Segundo Blue Butterfly and the Coast Buckwheat or to get involved with habitat recovery efforts, visit Loyola Marymount University’s Center for Urban Resilience. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Stonebird