The Hermes Copper butterfly (Lycaena Hermes) is a rare species that is endemic to San Diego County and Baja California, Mexico.  This species was listed as federally threatened in 2021 due to threats from land use change, habitat isolation and wildfire. More recent data show that the species has declined since listing (Marschalek 2022) and previous and current conservation efforts have focused on locating additional populations and investigating ways to protect and manage this species and their habitat.

Within the last 20 years, several populations appear to have become extirpated by drought and wildfire. Specialization, small population sizes, and limited dispersal put Hermes copper at risk of extinction, especially under climate change (Marschalek and Deutschman, 2008, Thorne, 1963). In recent years major wildfires have destroyed several Hermes copper populations and while host plants and habitat are recovering, the butterfly is too dispersal-limited to recolonize those areas.  

With funding from the Bureau of Land Management and support from local partners including San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, US Forest Service, and the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program, we are focusing on habitat enhancement using wild-collected host and nectar plant seed, and testing plant materials for secondary compounds to better understand the butterfly’s host plant preferences. Project partners also include the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, who are providing their youth and community members the opportunity to learn how to monitor this species and their habitat on their lands.

Project Approach

Currently, three apparently viable populations of Hermes copper exist in the USA.  Two are in Descanso, CA, in eastern San Diego County.  One of these is on conserved land in the Cleveland National Forest; the other is on private property, part of which is owned by the San Diego Gas and Electric Company.  These two populations are separated by only three miles and could be wiped out by a single wildfire event.  The final population is located on Bureau of Land Management lands north of Potrero, CA also in eastern San Diego County. 

This project will focus on enhancing habitat at known southern sites to try to improve habitat for the butterflies that remain in this area. In addition, the project will investigate the effects of environmental factors such as elevation, soil type, and drought, on the spiny redberry, the larval host plant for Hermes copper.  The project will also explore the feasibility of creating a captive rearing site, which could be a critical resource for protecting this very vulnerable species during wildfires and / or helping to expand the population or translocate the species to previously occupied sites. Hermes copper captive rearing will take place at one or two sites owned by the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: the Butterfly Conservation Lab at the San Diego Zoo and Samataguma Ranch, which is located within five miles of two extant and at least one recently extant HCB populations.

 

 

This project is a collaborative effort with the US Forest Service – Cleveland National Forest (USFS), the San Diego Zoo & Wildlife Alliance (SDZWA) in collaboration with WildSpring Ecology, and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians. Other project partners include the San Diego Management and Monitoring Program (SDMMP) and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

 

Project Contact

MC Moazed, Habitat Program Manager

mc.moazed@rcdsandiego.org

(619) 562-0096