Local butterflies have faced steep declines in recent years due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and other human-induced challenges. In San Francisco, the iconic Mission Blue Butterfly has all but disappeared from the city except around Twin Peaks. It’s demise is primarily due to loss of habitat, but along with that, and even more detrimental, is the loss its larval plant food–lupines. It simply cannot reproduce unless it can find lupine to lay its eggs on so it’s young will have food for it’s survival. It depends on 3 varieties: Silver Bush Lupine, Western Lupine and Varied Lupine. We are planting lupine as well as other important butterfly larval food like buckwheat, toyon, ceanothus, yarrow and others and native flowers for their pollen and nectar sources.
