Genetic sequencing links Silvery blue butterflies to extinct Xerces blue. From March through May 2025 scientists hope to see new generation of silvery blue butterflies emerge after introduction ...

Brush rabbits nibbled on yellow-speckled coast dandelions. Tiny Xerces blue butterflies flitted among the violet flowers of Chamisso’s lupine. Two centuries of city-building later, the dunes are ...

More than eight decades ago, a mesmerizing butterfly with iridescent cobalt wings and stunning spots called the Xerces blue vanished from San Francisco. When it disappeared, the Xerces became ...

A SILVERY blue butterfly, the closest relative to the extinct Xerces blue butterfly, is seen under netting after its release in the Presidio’s restored dune habitat in San Francisco, on April 11.

But a key piece of the puzzle was missing — until now. The Xerces blue butterfly, which serves as both pollinator and prey in the ecosystem, has been extinct since 1943. So scientists ...

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 80 years ago, a beautiful butterfly called Xerces blue that once fluttered among San Francisco’s coastal dunes went extinct as stately homes, museums and parks ate up ...

Biologist Durrell Kapan, Ph.D. of the California Academy of Sciences says the butterflies will be replacing a long-lost species called the Xerces Blue that went extinct in the 1940s. "The Xerces ...

In 1943, the gossamer-winged Xerces blue butterfly disappeared from San Francisco as housing, parks and museums completely wiped out its habitat in what is now the Richmond and the Sunset.

SAN FRANCISCOSAN FRANCISCO — More than 80 years ago, a beautiful butterfly called Xerces Blue that once fluttered among San Francisco’s coastal dunes went extinct as stately homes, museums and ...