Five Endangered Butterflies: Shaus Swallowtail

Schaus Swallowtail

This is the last of five blog posts about my 

Endangered Butterfly linoleum print series.

 

The Shaus swallowtail is the only butterfly in the family which contains the swallowtails (Papilionidae) that is endangered in the US.  Once populating the southern tip of Florida and the Florida Keys, the Schaus swallowtail now survives in small tropical hardwood hammocks in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties, northern Key Largo, and several small islands within Biscayne National Park (Photo by ZanyShani on Flickr.)



Another important refuge for the Shaus is at

Biscayne National Park 

"Deering Estate at Cutler," a 400-acre green space on the coast, and the butterfly is also being reintroduced to a golf course in Miami-Dade. Females lay their eggs on wild lime and sea torchwood.  The topography of Florida is very flat, so most of the background map in the image consists of man made canals and streets with isolated green spaces.  This speaks volumes to the impact of humans on the native habitat of the butterfly.  This image is three color blocks:  Blue, yellow and black.  The red areas are hand painted watercolor.



Special thanks to Dr. Tom Emmel for the use of his photograph to create this print, and for his and his colleagues' dedication to conserving this beautiful species.