Investigating population status, habitat, and ecological interactions for the Sand Mountain blue butterfly, one of North America's most geographically restricted butterflies
type: CreativeWork
description: Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana, the Sand Mountain blue butterfly, is a subspecies of the pallid blue and is endemic to Sand Mountain, a dune system in central Nevada, USA. Eriogonum nummulare, Kearney's buckwheat, is the larval host plant and primary nectar resource and can be found bordering the western edge of the dune system as well as in isolated pockets on the eastern side of the dunes. The butterfly is of conservation concern due to its small geographic range (a single locality) and restricted habitat association as well as recreational activities at Sand Mountain. Motivated by the rarity of the butterfly and associated concerns, we ask the following questions: 1) is the E. p. arenamontana population stable across years? 2) are there habitat features that predict the presence and abundance of caterpillar and adult life stages? 3) to what extent has the vegetation composition changed over the years at Sand Mountain? and 4) which insects at Sand Mountain are using and potentially pollinating E. nummulare? To address the population question, adult butterfly counts were conducted in the years 2006, 2022, and 2023 with meandering surveys at 27 sites along a 3 mile transect from the northeast end to the southwest extent of the dune complex at Sand Mountain. Variables that include the cover of E. nummulare, disturbance, and ant presence were quantified at 67 plots and used to examine habitat association for caterpillars and adult butterflies. A slight decline is apparent in the weekly average of butterflies seen between 2006 and the more recent years of 2022 and 2023. The best predictors for caterpillar presence in a plot are inflorescences of Kearney's buckwheat, the abundance of ants, and the total numbers of adult butterflies, while precent cover of the focal plant in a plot is the best predictor of adult butterfly presence. Vegetation composition appears to have changed over the years, comparing 2006 and 2024, with fewer E. nummulare plants and the presence o…
abstract: Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana, the Sand Mountain blue butterfly, is a subspecies of the pallid blue and is endemic to Sand Mountain, a dune system in central Nevada, USA. Eriogonum nummulare, Kearney's buckwheat, is the larval host plant and primary nectar resource and can be found bordering the western edge of the dune system as well as in isolated pockets on the eastern side of the dunes. The butterfly is of conservation concern due to its small geographic range (a single locality) and restricted habitat association as well as recreational activities at Sand Mountain. Motivated by the rarity of the butterfly and associated concerns, we ask the following questions: 1) is the E. p. arenamontana population stable across years? 2) are there habitat features that predict the presence and abundance of caterpillar and adult life stages? 3) to what extent has the vegetation composition changed over the years at Sand Mountain? and 4) which insects at Sand Mountain are using and potentially pollinating E. nummulare? To address the population question, adult butterfly counts were conducted in the years 2006, 2022, and 2023 with meandering surveys at 27 sites along a 3 mile transect from the northeast end to the southwest extent of the dune complex at Sand Mountain. Variables that include the cover of E. nummulare, disturbance, and ant presence were quantified at 67 plots and used to examine habitat association for caterpillars and adult butterflies. A slight decline is apparent in the weekly average of butterflies seen between 2006 and the more recent years of 2022 and 2023. The best predictors for caterpillar presence in a plot are inflorescences of Kearney's buckwheat, the abundance of ants, and the total numbers of adult butterflies, while precent cover of the focal plant in a plot is the best predictor of adult butterfly presence. Vegetation composition appears to have changed over the years, comparing 2006 and 2024, with fewer E. nummulare plants and the presence o…
author: Bradford, Taylor
language: en_US
language: English
keywords: Buckwheat, Butterfly, Endemic, Sand Dune
date published: 2024
date modified: 2026-07-27T21:45:34Z
provider: University of Nevada - Reno
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Nevada - Reno