? Xerces Blue
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Subkingdom: Metazoa Division: Rhopalocera Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Hexapoda Class: Insecta Subclass: Pterygota Infraclass: Neoptera Superorder: Endopterygota Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Ditrysia Superfamily: Papilionoidea Family: Lycaenidae Subfamily: Polyommatinae Tribe: Polyommatini Genus: Glaucopsyche Species: G. xerces
Binomial name
Glaucopsyche xerces (Boisduval, 1852)

The Xerces Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces) is an extinct species of butterfly. The species lived in coastal sand dunes of the Sunset District of San Francisco. The Xerces butterfly is the first American butterfly species to become extinct as a result of loss of habitat caused by urban development. The last Xerces Blue was seen in either 1941 (Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden, California Butterflies, UC Press 1986) or 1943 (Powell, J.A. and C.L. Hogue, California Insects, UC Press, 1979) on lands that may now be part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Xerces Blue butterfly This species of butterfly is extinct, hence the photos exist only in exhibits. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria Placozoa Subregnum Bilateria  Acoelomorpha  Orthonectida  Rhombozoa  Myxozoa  Superphylum Deuterostomia     Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Phyla Radiata Cnidaria Ctenophora - Comb jellies Bilateria Protostomia Acoelomorpha Platyhelminthes - Flatworms Nemertina - Ribbon worms Gastrotricha Gnathostomulida - Jawed worms Micrognathozoa Rotifera - Rotifers Acanthocephala Priapulida Kinorhyncha Loricifera Entoprocta Nematoda - Roundworms Nematomorpha - Horsehair worms Cycliophora Mollusca - Mollusks Sipuncula - Peanut worms Annelida - Segmented worms Tardigrada - Water bears Onychophora - Velvet worms Arthropoda - Insects, etc. ... Rhopalocera and Heterocera are non-standard divisions in the taxonomy of Lepidopterans, used in an attempt to formalize the popular schoolyard distinction between butterflies and moths. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - Trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - Spiders, Scorpions, etc. ... Classes & Orders Class Insecta (insects) Unplaced orders:    Order Diplura    Order Collembola (springtails)    Order Protura The subphylum Hexapoda constitutes the largest (in terms of number of species) grouping of arthropods and includes the insects as well as a few much smaller groups of wingless arthropods closely related to insects: Collembola, Protura... Classes & Orders Subclass: Apterygota Orders Archaeognatha (Bristletails) Thysanura (Silverfish) Monura - extinct Subclass: Pterygota Orders Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Diaphanopteroidea - extinct Palaeodictyoptera - extinct Megasecoptera - extinct Archodonata - extinct Infraclass: Neoptera Orders Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Dermaptera (earwigs) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (walking sticks) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera... Orders     Palaeodictyoptera - extinct     Ephemeroptera (mayflies)     Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies)   Infraclass Neoptera     Blattodea (cockroaches)     Mantodea (mantids)     Isoptera (termites)     Zoraptera     Grylloblattodea (rock crawlers)     Dermaptera (earwigs)     Plecoptera (stoneflies)     Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids)     Phasmatodea (walking sticks, timemas)     Embioptera (webspinners)     Mantophasmatodea (gladiators)    Superorder Hemipterodea     Psocoptera (booklice, barklice)     Phthiraptera (lice)     Hemiptera (true bugs)     Thysanoptera (thrips)    Superorder... Orders     Blattodea (cockroaches)     Mantodea (mantids)     Isoptera (termites)     Zoraptera     Grylloblattodea     Dermaptera (earwigs)     Plecoptera (stoneflies)     Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, katydids)     Phasmatodea (walking sticks, timemas)     Embioptera (webspinners)     Mantophasmatodea (gladiators)    Superorder Hemipterodea     Psocoptera (booklice, barklice)     Phthiraptera (lice)     Hemiptera (true bugs)     Thysanoptera (thrips)    Superorder Endopterygota     Miomoptera - extinct     Megaloptera (alderflies, etc. ... Orders Coleoptera (beetles) Diptera (flies and relatives) Hymenoptera (wasps and relatives) Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) Mecoptera Megaloptera Miomoptera (extinct) Neuroptera Raphidioptera (snakeflies) Siphonaptera (fleas) Strepsiptera Trichoptera (caddisflies) The Endopterygota, also known as Holometabola, are insects of the subclass Pterygota which go through distinctive larval, pupal, and adult stages. ... Super Families Butterflies Hesperioidea Papilionoidea Moths Micropterigoidea Heterobathmioidea Eriocranioidea Acanthopteroctetoidea Lophocoronoidea Neopseustoidea Mnesarchaeoidea Hepialoidea Nepticuloidea Incurvarioidea Palaephatoidea Tischeriodea Simaethistoidea Tineoidea Gracillarioidea Yponomeutoidea Gelechioidea Zygaenoidea Sesioidea Cossoidea Tortricoidea Choreutoida Urodoidea Galacticoidea Schreckensteinioidea Epermenioidea Pterophoroidea Aluctoidea Immoidea Axioidea Hyblaeoidea Thyridoidea Whalleyanoidea Pyraloidea Mimallonoidea Lasiocampoidea Geometroidea Drepanoidea Bombycoidea Calliduloidae Hedyloidea Noctuoidea Families About... Families See Lepidoptera. ... Families Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Lycaenidae Riodinidae Libytheidae The superfamily Papilionoidea contains all the butterflies except for the skippers, which are classified in superfamily Hesperioidea. ... Subfamilies Lycaeninae - Coppers Miletinae - Harvesters Polyommatinae - Blues Theclinae - Hairstreaks, Elfins The Lycaenidae or copper butterfly are a large family of butterflies, also known as the Gossamer-winged butterflies. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is a standard convention used for naming species. ... Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Boisduval (1874) Jean Baptiste Alphonse Dechauffour de Boisduval (June 17, 1799–December 30, 1879) was a French lepidopterist and physician. ...

The species was first described and documented in 1852. It was characterized by blue wings with white spots. The butterfly's food plants belonged to the genera Lotus and Lupinus. Xerces probably associated with ants in its larval stages as part of a symbiotic relationship. One of the theories regarding the extinction of the species is that with human settlement in the Bay area, new species of ant were introduced which slowly replaced the existing ant species within the butterfly's habitat.

Efforts are on to resurrect the Xerces Blue. The Palos Verdes Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis) which is considered a Los Angeles cousin of the Xerces, is being reared in labs. A new Xerces-like subspecies of the Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) have been discovered as well. Palos Verdes blue butterfly Categories: Animal stubs | Butterflies ...

An endangered invertebrate conservation group known as the Xerces Society is named after the Xerces Blue species. The Xerces Society is an environmental organization that focuses on invertebrates which are essential to biological diversity. ...

Xerces is also a group of XML software packages named after this butterfly. Xerces is a family of software packages for parsing and manipulating XML, part of the Apache XML project. ...

External link

http://www.xerces.org - An invertebrate conservation society