A regal fritillary butterfly lands on milkweed. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the butterfly as threatened (Photo by Jill Haukos/Konza Prairie Biological Station)
Federal wildlife officials on Monday proposed listing a large butterfly once prevalent in the grasslands of Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri as threatened.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would seek protections for the regal fritillary, large non-migratory butterfly with orange and black markings. It exists in an eastern and western subspecies.
The service is recommending the western regal fritillary — found in 14 states in the Midwest and Great Plains — be listed as a threatened species. It’s not at immediate risk of extinction, but is suffering from habitat loss because of agricultural and urban development, pesticides and climate change, among other issues.
In its eastern territory, the butterfly could once be found anywhere from New Jersey to North Carolina. Now, it persists in one National Guard installation in Pennsylvania. Federal officials are recommending that the eastern regal fritillary be listed as endangered.