1. Tales of urban conservation: Eumaeus butterflies
and their threatened cycad hostplants
Lorena Ramírez-Restrepo1
& Sandy Koi2
& Ian MacGregor-Fors1
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract Urbanization has caused the local extinction of
several butterfly species around the world, while others
have managed to thrive in urban areas. Butterflies of the
genus Eumaeus are among the most striking and colorful
lycaenid butterflies in the Americas, but their neurotoxic
hostplants, cycads, are a highly threatened plant group.
The main threats for cycads are the loss and modification
of their habitats and their removal for ornamental pur-
poses, which in addition to their slow growth rate, make
them highly vulnerable. Ornamental cycads are taken
from natural habitats to urban areas, where they are
playing an important role for Eumaeus reproduction. We
here report two cases in which two Eumaeus species (E.
childrenae, E. atala) are following and utilizing ornamen-
tal cycads to reproduce in urban areas, showing how sig-
nificant urban areas can be, ecologically speaking. Aside
from having enormous potential as flagship species for
conservation in urban areas, these butterfly and plant spe-
cies, and their interactions, shed encouraging light on the
idea of putting reconciliation ecology ideas into action.
Keywords Cycads . Hostplants . Urban ecology .
Lycaenidae . Eumaeus childrenae . Eumaeus atala
Introduction
Modern urban practices and the sprawling of cities have been
associated with the four major components of global change
(i.e., land-use change, biological invasions, climate change,
biogeochemical cycle shifts; Vitousek et al. 1997; Grimm
et al. 2008), setting urbanization as a major threat to biodiver-
sity (Czech and Krausman 1997; Güneralp and Seto 2013). As
cities continue to expand and establish, it becomes urgent to
understand them and their effects on biodiversity (New and
Sands 2002; Aronson et al. 2014).
Urban systems are frequently considered inhospitable for
biodiversity (Davis and Glick 1978; McKinney 2002); yet,
because the effects of urbanization on wildlife communities
are intense and extend way beyond its limits (McDonnell and
MacGregor-Fors 2016), urban ecologists have made patent
the need to consider biological conservation within urban
areas (McKinney 2002; Kowarik 2011). Some reasons behind
this idea range from the direct ecological benefit (most people
currently live in urban areas; Grimm et al. 2008), to restoring
the human–nature relationship and the impact of urban areas
outside their boundaries, making urban conservation a matter
of conservation of nature elsewhere (Sanderson and
Huron 2011).
Among the most charismatic and well-studied animal
groups in urban areas, birds and butterflies head the list
(McKinney 2008; Ramírez-Restrepo and MacGregor-Fors
2016). Particularly for butterflies, urbanization has caused
the local extinction of several species (Tilden 1956; Minno
2010). In Rome (Italy), 27 butterfly species disappeared be-
tween 1900 and 1999, due to urban sprawl and habitat loss
(Fattorini 2011). Also, urban sprawl caused the extinction of
the endemic Xerces Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces) in
the San Francisco Bay area, mainly due to the loss of its
hostplant (Tilden 1956). Yet, as recorded for other wildlife
* Ian MacGregor-Fors
ian.macgregor@inecol.mx
1
Red de Ambiente y Sustentabilidad, Instituto de Ecología, A.C.
Carretera antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, Xalapa,
91070 Veracruz, Mexico
2
McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, 3215 Hill Road,
Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Urban Ecosyst
DOI 10.1007/s11252-016-0599-0

2. groups, some butterfly species have been reported to thrive in
urban areas (Smith 2000; Koi 2013; Koi and Daniels 2015).
Although the study of urban butterflies is on the rise (New and
Sands 2002; Ramírez-Restrepo and MacGregor-Fors 2016),
there are important gaps in our understanding of the response
of butterflies to urbanization (Ramírez-Restrepo and Halffter
2013; Pauchard et al. 2006). Additionally, few publications
provide evidence of butterfly species that actually breed and
thrive in urban habitats (Graves and Shapiro 2003; Koi 2013;
Koi and Daniels 2015).
As part of two independent urban ecology studies, one car-
ried out in Xalapa (Veracruz, southeastern Mexico), and anoth-
er one in Southeast Florida (United States), we recorded two
butterfly species of the genus Eumaeus with conservation con-
cerns using ornamental cycads for breeding. In Xalapa, a small-
to-medium sized green neotropical city (~600,000 inhabitants;
19°29′–19°36′ N, 96°51′–96° 58′ W; 1120–1720 m asl;
Castillo-Campos 1991; Williams-Linera et al. 2002; INEGI
2011; Lemoine 2012), we recorded the Great Cycadian
(Eumaeus childrenae (G. Gray 1832)), recently included in a
regional Red List (Hernández-Baz and Rodríguez-Vargas
2014), during citywide surveys in 2012 and 2013 (see
Ramírez-Restrepo et al. 2015 for survey details). Afterwards,
we surveyed in other greenspaces of Xalapa in which we know
there are ornamental cycads (i.e., Botanical Garden “Francisco
Javier Clavijero”, Library Services and Information Unit
(USBI), Universidad Veracruzana). We sighted four colonies
(i.e., eggs, larvae and/or pupal stages) of E. childrenae in
Xalapa associated with three ornamental cycads (i.e., Dioon
edule, Ceratozamia chimalapensis, C. mexicana) (Fig. 1).
In Southeast Florida, we have worked with the Atala
(Eumaeus atala (Poey 1832)), considered extinct in the
United States during the 1950s due to habitat and hostplant loss.
More than 300 ephemeral colonies of the Atala butterfly have
been documented in the Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm
Beach tri-county area (~6 million inhabitants by 2015; US
Census Bureau 2016a,b,c) since 2001 (http://e-atala.blogspot.
mx/; Fig. 2). Most of the existing colonies occur in home
gardens. Self-established urban colonies have been documented
as occurring in the median strips of four-lane highways (Davie,
Broward Co.; Boca Raton, Palm Beach Co.), along two-lane
streets (Pompano, Broward Co.), parking lots of derelict build-
ings (Delray Beach, Broward Co.), parking lots of busy retail
stores (Broward and Palm Beach counties), city halls (Broward
and Palm Beach counties), coastal parks (Riviera Beach, and
Hollywood Beach, Broward Co.), parks and nature centers (tri-
county) and many of the local nurseries that grow the native
cycad hostplant coontie (tri-county). In botanical gardens, the
Atala butterfly has been found to use nearly forty cycad species
(i.e., Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Montgomery
Botanical Center, both in Miami-Dade County; Hammer 1996;
Koi 2013). At all sampling locations, adults and all immature
stages of the Atala butterfly were recorded.
Our observations show that the presence and abundance of
a fundamental component for two butterfly species
(E. childrenae, E. atala), their hostplants (cycads), determines
their existence and numbers in two urban areas. Aside from
the baggage of knowledge regarding the negative effects of
urbanization on butterflies (Ramírez-Restrepo and
MacGregor-Fors 2016), there are a few published examples
of butterflies thriving in urban areas due to the presence and
abundance of their hostplants (Fattorini 2011; Ruszczyk 1986;
Smith 2000; Shapiro 2002; Koi 2013). For example, in Porto
Alegre (Brazil), one of the least common papilionids in the
peripheral areas of the city has higher abundances inside the
city (Ruszczyk 1986). Also, in Davis (CA, USA) 13 species of
butterflies have shown remarkable ecological plasticity,
shifting to alternative hosting and feeding sources in urban
areas (Shapiro 2002).
It is noteworthy that both Eumaeus species succeed in
Mexico and Florida under different circumstances. In Xalapa,
there has been no intentional management seeking to protect or
nurture the Great Cycadian butterfly; however, the species is
taking advantage of the presence of cycads in private and pub-
lic greenspaces. In Southeast Florida, although some city and
county officials use pesticides to control the herbivory of the
Atala butterfly on ornamental cycads, or remove the cycads
Fig. 1 Great Cycadian butterflies (Eumaeus childrenae (G. Gray, 1832))
recorded in Xalapa. Left: larvae feeding in a cycad at downtown Xalapa.
Right: adult laying eggs in a cycad
Fig. 2 Atala (Eumaeus atala (Poey, 1832)) recorded in Southeast
Florida. Left: larvae feeding in a cycad Right: adult on a cycad at Nova
Southeastern University
Urban Ecosyst

3. altogether, this species has become a much sought-after butter-
fly, even in botanical gardens. In fact, the Atala butterfly is a
popular attraction in botanical gardens and, because of its strik-
ing beauty, acts as a charismatic species (Koi 2013).
Our observations demonstrate that some species that would
often avoid urban areas, can reproduce within cities if funda-
mental requirements are offered and managed appropriately.
In our case, both species are highly charismatic and could
have enormous potential as flagship species for conservation
and to root educational programs, and consequently generate
awareness of the importance of urban biodiversity in Xalapa
and Southeast Florida. This does not only apply to these but-
terfly species, but to all wildlife species that could dwell and
succeed in properly managed and planned habitats within the
complex environmental matrices that urbanization generates.
However, actions related to management in urban areas ought
to be carefully analyzed, seeking win-win scenarios
(Rosenzweig 2003). In the case of the Great Cycadian in
Xalapa, for example, the presence of cycads in the city is the
result of poaching from natural areas or the introduction of
exotic species. Due to the effects that exotic species can have
(Vitousek et al. 1997), we suggest managing the process with
sustainable practices using native plant species. Finally, if
our goal is to set a balance between the quality of human
life and our effects on biodiversity, following reconciliation
ecology approaches (Rosenzweig 2003), we need to consid-
er human-modified systems into our biological conservation
plans.
Acknowledgments We are most grateful to Keith R. Willmott and
Madhusudan Katti for their comments and suggestions to a previous
version of this work. Andrew Vovides provided valuable information
about the cycads of Xalapa. SK thanks the dedicated volunteers who help
monitor the Atala butterfly colonies throughout southeast Florida. LR-R
acknowledges the scholarship and financial support provided by the
National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT 213179/
244461, Convocatoria 290649), COLCIENCIAS (Convocatoria 568-
2012), and the Doctoral Program of INECOL.
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