© Thomas Marler © Species of the Day: Cycas micronesica Cycas micronesica is listed as ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM. The plant occurs in remnant native forest on the islands of Guam, Rota, Yap and Palau in the western Pacific Ocean. The major historical threat was habitat destruction, but despite this, the species was the most abundant tree on Guam at the end of the 20th century. However, the scale Aulacaspis Geographical range yasumatsui invaded Guam in 2003 and the butterfly Chilades pandava followed in 2005. www.iucnredlist.org These cycad-specific pests have combined with other herbivores to eliminate seedling and www.cycadsg.org juvenile trees and reduce the population of mature trees by 75%. There is no recruitment due Help Save Species to reduced seed production and low germination, combined with scale infestations that kill all www.arkive.org new seedlings. The scale pest has spread throughout all the cycad-inhabited forests of Guam, and onto the islands of Rota and Palau. Several management approaches have had limited success, including biological and chemical control of the scale. In case this species becomes locally extinct on Guam and Rota, three ex-situ cycad gardens have been established with seeds from several different habitats around Guam. The production of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is made possible through the IUCN Red List Partnership: Species of the Day IUCN (including the Species Survival Commission), BirdLife is sponsored by International, Conservation International, NatureServe and Zoological Society of London..