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List of Endangered Butterflies

More than 30 types of butterflies species currently or may soon face endangerment as of May 2010. However, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 gives them a chance to flourish again because recovery of endangered species is this act's primary goal. Genetics, disease, population trends, feeding, sheltering and breeding habitat curtailing can threaten a butterfly population's existence. Natural or man-made factors may also adversely impact butterflies. The U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service evaluates the problems that some butterfly species must endure and prioritizes their protection when extinction would be imminent without intervention.

San Bruno Elfin Butterfly
- The San Bruno elfin is a native butterfly of California. The small butterfly is reddish-brown with a brown and white-colored underside. Long-term management plans are in place to facilitate their comeback in the coastal grassland areas of San Mateo County, California.
Mission Blue Butterfly
- Another California butterfly, called the mission blue, has iridescent blue coloring with a fringed black border. Male and female mission blues possess white-ringed black spots, too. Populations from southern Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties continue reaping the benefits of endangered species protection.
Fender's Blue Butterfly
- The fender blue is an Oregon native butterfly that has a wingspan of an inch. Fender blue males have iridescent blue upper wings, and the females have reddish-brown ones. Both sexes have black, spotted creamy-tan undersides. The endangered butterfly rarely travels more than 1.2 miles in its lifetime. This butterfly is on the endangered species list because its prairie habitats suffer depredation from fire suppression efforts and non-native plant invasion.

Insects & Science