Ballona Wetlands: Blue Butterflies are Thriving

After more than two decades of effort by Friends of Ballona Wetlands and volunteers, clearing invasive non-native plants like iceplant and planting native buckwheat, the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly has firmly reestablished its population at the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve’s sand dunes.

Above: About the size of your thumbnail, a male El Segundo Blue Butterfly. Photo by Friends of Ballona Wetlands

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Driven from the Marina area by decades of development and land abuse, the butterfly species remained in only a few small areas in the South Bay, and in 1976 was declared the first federally-listed endangered insect species.

Since then, multiple efforts at Ballona Wetlands, LAX dunes, South Bay beaches and Palos Verdes Peninsula have restored habitat, putting the species on the path to recovery. "Our goal is to foster a robust enough population that the species can eventually be removed from the Endangered Species list", said Olivia Jenkins, the Friends Manager of Scientific Programs.

Above: The El Segundo Blue Butterfly depends upon the Seacliff Buckwheat for its entire life cycle.

Adult El Segundo Blue Butterflies consume seacliff buckwheat pollen and nectar, then mate and females lay eggs on the flowers. Eggs hatch within 3 to 5 days, and the caterpillars camouflage within flower heads, feeding mostly on the buckwheat seeds. Once the caterpillars are fully developed, individuals crawl or fall to the base of the plant where they pupate (form a chrysalis) under leaf litter or shallow soil and remain there until emerging as adult butterflies the following season.

Above: An El Segundo Blue Butterfly larvae (caterpillar) feeding on a buckwheat flower. Photo by Ann Dalkey.

Ms. Jenkins noted that annual butterfly counts at Ballona have been consistent with previous years, with natural fluctuations. The population is stable and potentially increasing, but more data is needed. Jenkins also confirmed that El Segundo Blue Butterflies are using seacliff buckwheat planted by Friends volunteers within the last 3 years.

I joined a Friends-guided tour of the buckwheat stands in the Ballona Dunes this week.

Jenkins added that each year since 2024, Friends of Ballona Wetlands have planted approximately 300 plants in El Segundo Blue Butterfly habitat. Since Friends first began their restoration work, they have weeded and planted a total of 8 acres for the butterfly.

Above: The life cycle of the El Segundo Blue Butterfly. Credit - Friends of Ballona Wetlands

An official survey in 2013 first confirmed the El Segundo Blue Butterfly had returned to the dunes in the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve after decades of absence and was living and reproducing there. The butterfly’s unique habitat had degraded over the years but had been restored by the Friends' community restoration efforts. The native dune habitat at the Ecological Reserve will not be affected by the state’s proposed Ballona Wetlands Restoration Project, which will further expand habitat for the butterfly's recovery.

Above: Artist rendering of the California Fish and Wildlife plan for restoring the Ballona Wetlands. The Ballona Dunes are located near the bottom of the lower rendering.

Endangered species surveys may only be performed by a qualified biologist lawfully permitted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the surveys must follow a strict, scientifically defensible protocol that is specific to each species. While amateur observations, photographs or other anecdotal claims about endangered species and their habitat may prompt protocol surveys, they are not recognized as scientifically valid and may not be used for regulatory purposes in the United States.

My thanks to Ms. Olivia Jenkins for assisting with this article.

Enjoy your Ballona Wetlands!

References

Irena Mendez, Ph.D. Results of 2013 Presence/Absence Surveys for El Segundo Blue Butterfly at the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve, Playa Del Rey, Los Angeles County, CA. November 21, 2013. USFWS Recovery Permit TE218630

Friends of Ballona Wetlands. Restoration Programs. ballonafriends.org/restoration

Olivia Jenkins, personal communication. July 14, 2026.

Author’s Disclosure of Affiliations:

Dr. David W. Kay served on the Board of Directors of the non-profit Friends of Ballona Wetlands from 2007 until 2015, and served as Board President in 2012-13. He presently serves on the Boards of Ballona Discovery Park in Playa Vista and the Playa Vista Parks and Landscape Corporation. Dr. Kay is a staunch advocate for the state of California's plans to restore the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.

From 1984 until 2022, Dr. Kay was employed by Southern California Edison Company, exclusively in the company's environmental services organizations. His many responsibilities included restoration of the 440-acre San Dieguito Wetlands near Del Mar. He retired in 2022 as Senior Manager for Major Project Environmental Management at the company, after 38 years of service.

Dr. Kay earned bachelor and masters degrees in biology, and a doctorate in environmental science from UCLA.

See Dr. Kay’s Patch Community Contributor profile here.