K E E R S Marina C A del Rey N a O L L A n B t El Segundo Blue Butterfly a M H o I n and the Dune Buckwheat S i LAX c T The El Segundo blue butterfly (Euphilotes battoides allyni) a Playa O del Rey depends on the dune buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) B R for its entire life cycle. Adult a I y butterflies feed on the dune El Segundo C buckwheat’s nectar and lay eggs on the flowerheads. The S A caterpillars eat the flowerheads, Manhattan N form pupae in the soil, and then Dune buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) Beach D they wait for the next summer to emerge as butterflies. An individual butterfly Hermosa can spend its entire life within a few yards of a single plant. D Beach El Segundo blue butterfly (Euphilotes battoides allyni); photo by Jess Morton Urban development reduced the local distribution of dune buckwheat to three U Adult King N Butterfly isolated areas: the dunes west of LAX, Chevron’s El Segundo refinery property, Beach Bluffs Egg Harbor and the bluffs northwest of Palos Restoration Project E Verdes Estates. A dramatic decline in S he Beach Bluffs Restoration Project Larva the El Segundo blue butterfly Tbegan in 2001 when a group of local Redondo residents, nonprofit groups, and population following the loss of government agencies united to implement Beach a common vision of restoring the native vegetation of the bluffs along the southern suitable habitat led to its listing as a portion of Santa Monica Bay, between Pupa Ballona Creek and the Palos Verdes Spends winter federally endangered species. Peninsula. You Are Here in the soil Replacing iceplant with dune Goals of the Project Torrance • Increase the ecological value of the bluffs El Segundo blue butterfly life cycle; drawings by Rick Rogers buckwheat can allow establishment of and dunes • Promote the beauty of native plants new populations to increase its chance of recovery and eventual removal • Educate the public about the natural history of our urban beaches from the endangered species list. Sweat bee (Agapostemon texanus) on dune buckwheat Palos Verdes Estates .