Inspired by the extinction of the large blue butterfly, Xerces Society was founded in 1971 by visionary lepidopterist Robert Michael Pyle with a singular focus on butterfly conservation. Since then, Pyle's passion has evolved into a comprehensive mission to protect all invertebrates and their habitats.
Today, Xerces Society is a leading organization for invertebrate conservation around the world, focusing on pollinators, endangered species, and reducing pesticide use.
In an interview with Director of Outreach and Education Matthew Shepherd, we explore the society's origins and expanded mission, the significance of its namesake—the Xerces blue butterfly—as well as the critical role invertebrates play in our survival and how everyone can contribute to conserving them.
The rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) is the first bee in the continental U.S. to gain protection under the Endangered Species Act. (Photo by Rich Hatfield / Xerces Society)
Tell us about the origins of the Xerces Society.
The Xerces Society was founded in 1971 by lepidopterist, conservationist, and writer Robert Michael Pyle. At the time, he was in Britain studying as a Fulbright Scholar. He attended a lecture in London about the large blue butterfly, which at that time was just going extinct in Britain, and realizing that there were no organizations working to protect butterflies, Bob was inspired to launch the Xerces Society.
Pinned specimens of the Xerces blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) in the collection of Chicago’s Field Museum. The butterfly used to live on the San Francisco peninsula and is one of the first butterflies known to go extinct in North America because of human activity. It was last seen flying in the early 1940s. (Photo: Brianwray26, Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0))
How has your mission evolved over the years?
When it was established, the Xerces Society was focused on butterflies. After about a decade, it became obvious that there were so many other insects and invertebrates that deserved attention that the organization widened its area of interest to all invertebrates. It was also soon after that that Xerces morphed from an all-volunteer organization to one with professional staff. In addition to recognizing that there were many other animals needing conservation, the board realized the work was more than could be achieved with volunteers. Our written mission now is to “protect the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats”—and we have nearly 100 staff.
Xerces volunteer ambassadors do hundreds of local events and talks each year, reaching thousands of people with information about invertebrates. (Photo by Jessica Hildreth)
What is the significance of the namesake, the Xerces blue butterfly?
The Xerces blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) was the first butterfly known to go extinct in North America due to human activity. It used to live in the dune systems of the San Francisco peninsula, but as that city expanded, its habitat was lost. It was last seen flying in the early 1940s.
Although it is 80 years since it disappeared, the Xerces blue is remembered and inspires people and action beyond our work. Recently, there was a “de-extinction” effort (also referred to as "resurrection ecology") at the Presidio, where after several years of habitat restoration work, a closely related butterfly, the silvery blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) was released into the area. This was reported on by AP, Decades after a U.S. butterfly species vanished, a close relative is released to fill gap.
Also, at the Met Gala this year, Uma Thurman wore a dress inspired by the Xerces blue!
The namesake of the Xerces Society, the extinct Xerces blue butterfly. (Photo by Larry Orsak)
Invertebrates often don't receive as much attention as larger animals in conservation efforts. Why should people care?
At a purely selfish level, insects and other invertebrates make our lives better. They pollinate our food crops—from blueberries and apples to chocolate and coffee—and the wildflowers that add color to our roadsides and natural areas. They are food for fish, which we catch for sport or eat, and for birds that grace our gardens. They decompose leaves and other dead matter, recycling nutrients and keeping our landscapes clean. They filter water in creeks. The list could go on and on, but in short, they are foundational to the health of us and our environment. Without them, the fabric of our landscapes would unravel, our grocery store shelves would be sparsely stocked—and there would be few pumpkins to carve at Halloween.
An epic traveler, the monarch butterfly connects us all. Xerces has worked to encourage planting of milkweeds for its caterpillars and nectar plants to support its migration, as well as monitoring overwintering populations in California and protecting the vital groves in which it shelters. (Photo by Jennifer Hopwood)
What are some of the biggest challenges facing pollinators?
Pollinators, like other wildlife, are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, i.e., the places they can live are disappearing. Modern equipment gives us an extraordinary ability to transform landscapes rapidly and profoundly. New housing or business developments no longer follow the lie of the land; we scrape and shape and flatten to make construction simpler. When we imagine habitat loss we may picture bulldozers and chainsaws, but for insects, mowers and leaf blowers are equally bad. The green spaces we have left—parks, gardens, business landscaping—are trimmed and tidied and manicured, removing the little spaces where insects might shelter.
Pesticides, especially insecticides, are another great threat. Chemicals have become an easy and cheap option for so many things: ants, wasps, mosquitoes, dandelions, moss—and these chemicals don’t stay where they are sprayed or scattered, nor only impact the target. For example, in 2013, in the parking lot of a big box store on the southern edge of the Portland, OR, metro regions, linden trees (Tilia) were treated because of aphids dripping honeydew. The insecticide used was systemic (absorbed into the tissue of the trees), which made the nectar toxic. Linden is a bumble bee magnet, drawn by the abundant flowers. More than 50,000 bumble bees died. That was a large bee kill, but smaller incidents happen all the time, and even when they don’t kill, insecticides affect bees in nonlethal ways, such as changing how well they navigate or the efficiency of their foraging.
More than 50,000 bumble bees died in a parking lot after trees were treated with an insecticide to control aphids. This kill was large enough to be noticed—and led to changes in state regulations—but smaller incidents happen all the time. (Photo by Rich Hatfield / Xerces Society)
What are some of the key projects the society is working on to address all these issues?
Xerces staff is organized into teams such as pollinator conservation, agricultural biodiversity, pesticide reduction, endangered species, outreach and education, and communications, but we all work together on broader issues. Here are some examples.
1. Creating new habitat, as well as restoring degraded and improving the management of existing areas.
We have multiple staff working in partnership with federal agencies, especially the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Our staff train agency conservationists and resource managers, produce technical documents and conservation guidance, and help shape cost share and grant programs supporting farmers. This may not seem like glamorous work, but it has embedded pollinator conservation into working lands management at the county level across the US and resulted in millions of acres of land better for pollinators.
Our Living Farms project works directly with growers supplying produce to some of the world’s largest food companies to integrate conservation into thousands of acres of farmland.
A delivery of shrubs and perennials ready to plant a new hedgerow in California’s Central Valley. Xerces staff work with farmers across the United States to plant habitat in areas where it is most needed. (Photo by Cameron Newell / Xerces Society)
The Bee Better Certified program offers third-party verified certification for growers, https://beebettercertified.org.
We also collaborate with land managers to change how public lands are managed and to provide them with information about rare or sensitive species.
2. Protecting declining species is a core value.
For the Monarch butterfly, we've spent decades of work monitoring and surveying overwintering sites in California, and have submitted petition for protection under U.S. Endangered Species Act.
We undertake surveys and status assessments to build data on rare or declining species. This is the foundation for figuring out what needs to be done. Sometimes that informs land management, other times it is essential information for requesting protection under the Endangered Species Act or similar state-level legislation.
Through the U.S. Endangered Species Act, Xerces has helped the rusty patched bumble bee become the first bumble be to gain protection in the continental U.S. Additionally, several species of yellow-faced bees are now protected in Hawaii, and numerous butterflies—such as the island marble—are also protected.
We are currently working on assessing bees and butterflies across the western states.
Taqwa Community Farm in the Bronx, New York City, is one of many urban farms with which Xerces staff collaborate to create habitat for pollinators. These projects bring many other benefits to the neighborhoods, including diverse crops and greenspace for relaxation. (Photo by Kelly Gill / Xerces Society)
Your work involves collaboration with a range of partners. Can you share an example of a successful partnership and its impact?
Consisting of 17 flagship locations, plus more than 1,500 other gardens across the U.S., the People’s Garden Initiative is part of a broader USDA effort to advance equity, support and expand local food systems, improve access to food, teach people how to garden using conservation and climate-smart practices, provide habitat for pollinators and wildlife, maintain or create open greenspaces in cities, and build more resilient communities.
Xerces staff are collaborating with USDA staff to plan and implement habitat creation projects at some of the flagship gardens, as well as planning and planting unique food gardens and invertebrate habitat at the National People’s Garden in front of the USDA’s national headquarters. In addition, we are working closely with the PGI leadership team at the USDA to develop educational materials and training opportunities for all PGI participants. Any community garden or farm in the United States that is actively working to promote the production of food for local consumption, to practice sustainability—including creating habitat for pollinators, birds, or other wildlife—and to bring people together in their community, can join the PGI.
For more information (and to register your community garden), visit usda.gov/peoples-garden. You can also learn more from an article in the spring 2024 issue of our magazine, Wings. Essays on Invertebrate Conservation.
Xerces pollinator conservation specialist Sarah Nizzi speaks during a native plant identification training day for state and federal agency staff. (Photo by Kelsey Fleming / Iowa Department of Natural Resources)
What strategies do you use to promote pesticide reduction, and what successes have you seen in this area?
Pesticide reduction straddles much of our work and informs and supports the endangered species protection (including pesticide concerns in endangered species petitions) and habitat (building pesticide reduction into habitat creation and management plans) efforts above, but also has a number of initiatives of its own, including:
- Advocating for local, state, and national changes in regulations
- Grasshopper control on rangelands
- Promoting availability of bee-safe nursery plants in garden centers, xerces.org/pesticides/bee-safe-nursery-plants
- Research in partnership with university scientists to investigate the presence of pesticides in milkweeds (growing in the landscape and for sale in garden centers) and currently, looking into mosquito spraying / fogging in private gardens.
- Supporting Bee City / Campus affiliates with IPM and other work
Wildflower borders planted among wheat fields in Montana. Cover crops, creek banks, hedgerows, and more can all support pollinators and other beneficial insects. (Photo by Jennifer Hopwood / Xerces Society)
In what ways do you educate the public? Are there any challenges getting people to care?
Some people still shy away with an “ick” when seeing a photo of an insect or focus on stings and bites. I doubt we’ll ever find ourselves in a position when everyone is enthusiastic, but most people now are very open to the idea of helping insects. It’s actually quite remarkable the sea change in attitude that has occurred over the quarter century I’ve been working at Xerces, to see pollinators go from an obscure topic to dinner table conversation.
Xerces’ community engagement and volunteer coordinator Rachel Dunham shares in the excitement of a young visitor during an outreach event in Washington state. (Photo by Chad Wildermuth)
In terms of how, we educate the public through our ambassadors—trained volunteers doing outreach in their community by tabling at events and giving talks—as well as platforms like Bee City and Bee Campus USA; Bring Back the Pollinators; Leave the Leaves and Save the Stems; No Mow May; and X Kids, a science-based activity book for children.
Community (participatory) science is a great way to learn more about insects, get outside, and help build knowledge that informs conservation. Some projects that we run are Bumble Bee Atlas; Bumble Bee Watch; Firefly Atlas; Western Monarch Count; and Western Monarch Milkweed Mapper.
Xerces also hosts monthly webinars on our YouTube channel; runs the Bug Banter podcast; and offers hundreds resources including factsheets, plant lists, and conservation guidelines to the public.
Detailed close-up photos of bumble bees are taken during a survey for the Bumble Bee Atlas. The bees are chilled in a cooler before taking photos, after which they warm up and fly away. (Photo by Katie Lamke / Xerces Society)
If you could suggest one thing for a homeowner to do that would help the "little things that run the world,” what would it be?
I’ll always encourage people to grow pollinator-friendly flowers, whether that is an acre of meadow or a single container on the deck of your apartment (and keep it pesticide free). Not only will that bring something to feed a bee or butterfly into your neighborhood, but it will also bring beauty into your neighborhood and give you the chance to sit close and watch what visits.
Of course, there are many other things you could also do, from choosing produce in the grocery store or farmers market to advocating for change in how your park department uses insecticides, but a flower is a great start.
Insects are small and don’t need large areas in which to live. Pollinator gardening is a great way to bring wildness into our neighborhoods. (Photo by Alina Harris)
Anything else you’d like to add?
Bees, butterflies, flies, beetles, insects in general are an incredibly diverse group of animals. Many are strikingly beautiful or exhibit fascinating behaviors, and all of them offer the chance of a memorable encounter. They also are around us, so there are things we each can do that will directly help, and in helping them, we also enrich our own lives.