Threatened and Endangered are defined as follows in The Endangered Species Act of 1973:
The term "threatened species" means any species which is likely to become an endangered species within the forseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range.
The term "endangered species" means any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta determined by the Secretary to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of this Act would represent an overwhelming and overriding risk to man.
From the Order Lepidoptera, there are currently 19
butterflies, 2 skippers, and 2
moths officially listed as
Threatened or Endangered in the United States by the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
They are listed below, alphabetically by their common name. The scientific name is in
parenthesis.
Bay Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha bayensis)
A subspecies of Edith's Checkerspot
Location: California
Status: THREATENED
Behren's Silverspot (Speyeria
zerene behrensii)
A subspecies of the Zerene Fritillary
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Blackburn's Sphinx (Manduca
blackburni) [Moth]
Location: Hawaii
Status: ENDANGERED
Callippe Silverspot (Speyeria
callippe callippe)
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
El Segundo Blue (Euphilotes
battoides allyni)
A subspecies of the Square-Spotted Blue
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Fender's Blue (Icaricia
icarioides fenderi)
Location: Oregon
Status: ENDANGERED
Karner Blue (Lycaeides melissa
samuelis)
A subspecies of the Orange-bordered Blue, a.k.a. Melissa Blue
Location: Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
Status: ENDANGERED
Kern Primrose Sphinx (Euproserpinus euterpe)[Moth]
Location: California
Status: THREATENED
Laguna Mountains (Pyrgus
ruralis lagunae) [Skipper]
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Lange's Metalmark (Apodemia mormo langei)
A subspecies of the Mormon Metalmark
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Lotis Blue (Lycaeides argyrognomon lotis)
A subspecies of the Northern Blue
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Mission Blue (Icaricia icarioides missionensis)
A subspecies of the Common Blue
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Mitchell's Marsh Satyr (Neonympha mitchelli
mitchelli)
Location: Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio
Status: ENDANGERED
Myrtle's Silverspot (Speyeria zerene myrtleae)
A subspecies of the Zerene Fritillary
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Oregon Silverspot (Speyeria zerene hippolyta)
A subspecies of the Zerene Fritillary
Location: California, Oregon, Washington
Status: THREATENED
Palos Verdes Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus
palosverdesensis)
A subspecies of the Silvery Blue
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Pawnee Montane (Hesperia leonardus montana)
[Skipper]
A subspecies of the Leonardus Skipper
Location: Colorado
Status: THREATENED
Quino Checkerspot (Euphydryas
editha quino)
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Saint Francis' Satyr (Neonympha mitchellii
francisci)
A subspecies of Mitchell's Marsh Satyr
Location: North Carolina
Status: ENDANGERED
San Bruno Elfin (Callophrys mossii bayensis)
A subspecies of the Moss Elfin
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Schaus' Swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus
ponceanus)
Location: Florida
Status: ENDANGERED
Smith's Blue (Euphilotes enoptes smithi)
A subspecies of the Dotted Blue
Location: California
Status: ENDANGERED
Uncompahgre Fritillary (Boloria acrocnema)
Location: Colorado
Status: ENDANGERED
*** Updated June 28, 2000 ***
Visit the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service website for information on the Endangered Species Program.View the complete text of The Endangered Species Act of 1973.