最新《科学》杂志报道，在将濒临灭绝的大蓝碟重新引进英国的项目的第25周年纪念日的时候，生态学家第一次发表了为期数十年的研究报告，这些研究帮助人们挽救了这种引人注目的蝴蝶。
该研究显示，这种大蓝蝶是如何由于对某单一种系的蚂蚁的极端的依赖性而导致了它的消亡：它们的栖息地因为草木生长过于繁茂导致了土壤温度的下降以及蚂蚁数量的减少。 在人们作出这一发现之前，这种蝴蝶（又被称作Maculinea arion，或称蚁蓝灰蝶）的减少通常被归咎为蝴蝶收藏者对其的捕捉。 这种大蓝蝶是由 International union for Conservation of Nature 所挑选的三种蝴蝶之一，它们被当作是保护鳞翅目昆虫的全球性的标志。 这种蝴蝶之所以中选部分是由于它有着不同寻常的生命周期；这种蝴蝶依赖一种叫做 Myrmica sabuleti的蚂蚁作为其毛虫的代理双亲。这种毛虫通过分泌高度专门化的化学物质而将自己装扮成为幼蚁。 这种大蓝蝶在1979年的时候从英国消失，但后来又被成功地引入该国。这多亏了人们根据生态学的数据所作出的努力。
Jeremy Thomas及其共同作者报告了这一研究。 他们的研究向人们展示了Thomas及其同僚是如何查明这种蝴蝶衰减的原因以及他们是如何逆转这种损害的。文章的作者还介绍了作为重新引进蝴蝶努力的基础之理论模型，以及该模型是如何成功地预测了恢复蝴蝶栖息地可帮助蝴蝶重新建立其种群的。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
Science June 18, 2009 DOI: 10.1126/science.1175726
Successful Conservation of a Threatened Maculinea Butterfly
J. A. Thomas 1*, D. J. Simcox 2, R. T. Clarke 3
1 Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.; Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
2 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.
3 Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford,Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK.; Centre for Conservation Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Conservation Sciences, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Talbot Campus, Poole, Dorset BH12 5BB, UK.
* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Globally threatened butterflies have spearheaded research-based approaches to insect conservation. We describe the reversal of the decline of Maculinea arion (Large blue), a charismatic specialist whose larvae parasitize Myrmica ant societies. M. arion larvae were more specialized than had been recognized, being adapted to a single host-ant species that inhabits a narrow niche in grassland. Inconspicuous changes in grazing and vegetation structure caused host-ants to be replaced by similar but unsuitable congeners, explaining the extinction of European Maculinea populations. Once this problem was identified, United Kingdom ecosystems were perturbed appropriately, validating models predicting the recovery and subsequent dynamics of the butterfly and ants at 78 sites. The successful identification and reversal of the problem provides a paradigm for other successful insect conservation projects.
