IS187 703

Flora 2/23/2014

The Hessels Hairstreak is an invertebrate classified in the Arthropoda phylum. Due to human actions, the status of the environment that the Hessels Hairstreak is living is deteriorating. How can human action improve the terrestrial ecosystem that is the habitat for the Hessels Hairstreak? The Hessels Hairstreak, scientific name : Callophrys Hesseli, an endangered species, in the phylum Arthropoda, is an invertebrate. Invertebrates are animals that have no back bone or a vertebral column. One of the phylum of invertebrates is Arthropoda, the phylum the Hessels Hairstreak is classified in. Arthropoda is the largest phylum group that mainly consist of insects. An arthropod is an animal without a backbone (invertebrate) and has jointed legs. This butterfly has wings with a span of 2.5-2.8cm that is a reddish brown color with a few white black edged spots near the edge of the wings and small mint green dots all over the wings. With these wing characteristics, this butterfly is often mistaken for the Juniper Hairstreak. This specie can be found in the Atlantic coast of the United States from Maine to Florida where these butterflies can be found around the Atlantic White Cedar, their primary plant source. The Atlantic White Cedar is commonly found in New Jersey, making the Hessels Hairstreak common in New Jersey as well. The Atlantic White Cedar is not a common plant, making the Hessels Hairstreaks population small. Even though the Atlantic White Cedars were never abundant, human are still causing the population of the Hessels Hairstreak to decline. The first threat to the Hessels Hairstreak is wildfire and clear-cutting of Atlantic White Cedars. In New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Species Field Guide : Hessels Hairstreak by Emily Heiser, it states Atlantic White Cedars are commonly destroyed by wildfires- and it also states that even if there are still some saplings remaining, dears will most likely destroy them. Another article, Hessels Hairstreak from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and

Wildlife, stated that some of the Atlantic White Cedars in Maine are located in places with fast residential growth. If there is a quick residential growth, houses would be built for the residents to live in. But, in order for the houses to be built, the Atlantic White Cedar will be cut down to make room for the construction of houses. With the amount of these trees deteriorating, it will decline the population of the Hessels Hairstreak. People should preserve what previous generation have left for us and we should preserve it for the future. Since Atlantic White Cedar tree is the main habitat for the Hessels hairstreak, its important to keep it plentiful. The second threat to the Hessels Hairstreak is insect spray for gypsy moth and mosquitoes. The insect spray is killing the Hessels Hairstreak. Although the people using the spray is meaning to get rid of gypsy moth and mosquitoes, it is also affecting the Hessels Hairstreak. According to the Hessels Hairstreak, New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Species Field Guide, and Hairstreaks : Hessels Hairstreak (Mitoura Hesseli) (from Xerces Society) all stated that the Hessels Hairstreaks population is decreasing because of the insect spray. People can solve this issue by using another method to repel these insect. Instead of using insect sprays, we can use methods such as using natural products. This could produce a more Hessels Hairstreak friendly result. According to 6 Herbs That Naturally Repel Mosquitoes and Fleas by Ally Bacaj (The Gerson Institute), it was stated that citronella, catnip, marigolds, lavender, and peppermint are some plant examples that repel bugs. Also, The Basics of Mothproofing by Martha Stewart states that lavender also repel moths along with biting bugs. Natural ways can still repel bugs without harming any other species, which is a good thing because it benefits both sides. The final threat is global warming. Humans can also decrease their pollution. Pollution is causing global warming, and the heat from global warming is affecting the sea water. Because of

the heat, the water is expanding, causing a rise in sea level. Since the Atlantic White Cedar are located in the Atlantic coast, rising sea levels could rise up to the where the trees are. In the New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Species Field Guide : Hessels Hairstreak article, it stated -sea level rise is a serious threat to Atlantic White Cedars. They have little tolerance for salt water intrusion. Since they have a low tolerance for salt water intrusion, the salt water can kill the Atlantic White Cedar. We can try things that will prevent global warming. For example, decreasing the amount of pollution we release into the air. Many actions could be taken to decrease the amount of pollution we release into the air. For example : people can try to restrain themselves from littering, decrease the amount of chemical we put in the air that could hurt the atmosphere, etc. Pollution have been causing problems for living organisms by destroying their habitat. The pollution does not have to be a direct threat, but a secondary threat. In this situation, it is a secondary threat. The main threat to the Atlantic White Cedar is sea level rising, which is caused by pollution causing global warming. If sea level continue to rise, the Atlantic White Cedar can be extinct. The Atlantic White Cedar, like the Hessels Hairstreak, was never abundant. So it is vital to protect these trees which will also benefit towards the Hessels Hairstreak. The Hessels Hairstreaks population is decreasing, but we can still save this species. Wildfires and clear-cutting of Atlantic White Cedar is one of the threats. But we can solve that by refraining from cutting down these trees and try our best to avoid forest fires. Another threat would be insect spray. This too can be solved. Instead of using insect spray with chemicals in it, we can use natural ways to repel insects. The final threat is sea level rising. We can solve this by preventing the sea level to rise as quickly by reducing the amount of pollution we put into the air.

If we make the right choices, we might be able to solve the Hessels Hairstreak butterfly along with other species that are also endangered.

Bibliography
Stewart, Martha. "The Basics of Mothproofing." Martha Stewart. N.p., Apr. 2005. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Bacaj, Ally. "6 Herbs That Naturally Repel Mosquitoes and Fleas." Gerson Institute RSS. Gerson Institute, 16 July 2013. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Vaughan, D. M., and M. D. Shepherd. 2005. Species Profile: Mitoura hesseli. In Shepherd, M. D., D. M. Vaughan, and S. H. Black (Eds). Red List of Pollinator Insects of North America. CD-ROM Version 1 (May 2005). Portland, OR: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Heiser, Emily. "New Jersey Endangered and Threatened Species Field Guide : Hessel's Hairstreak." Wildlife Field Guide for New Jersey's Endangered and Threatened Species. N.p., 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014 Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Hessel's Hairstreak (Callophrys Hesseli)(2003): n. pag. Print.