Archive for March, 2009

My research on the Carson Valley wood nymph butterfly (Cercyonis pegala carsonensis) between 2001 and 2006 is essentially a story of impending doom.  Historic localities, or populations, of the butterfly were discovered to be largely extirpated in recent years from human land uses that degrade or eliminate habitat. Although I have discovered some new populations in the last six years, the lack of conservation planning for this butterfly and its habitat is likely to cause this species to become critically imperiled in western Nevada’s Carson Valley.

Carson Valley Wood Nymph

And its habitat