Last week was a change of pace for the botany crew in Carson City. We spent the week surveying a rare species of butterfly Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana  or the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly.  This species is endemic to the Sand Mountain Recreation area outside of Fallon, NV. This little butterfly is completely dependent upon its host plant, Eriogonum numalare, which the larvae feed upon.

The Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly is currently listed as vulnerable. But environmental groups are working on a proposal to get it listed as threatened or endangered.  This would mean big changes at Sand Mountain which is primarily used by OHV enthusiasts. The BLM has already constructed a large system of trail markers and fences to try to limit the damage done by ATV’s but a network of social trails still infringe on the Eriogonum habitat.

After establishing the transects at the end of the first day we experienced another rarity for Nevada, a thunderstorm. It was nice to work under cloud cover and finally receive a little moisture but the lightning strikes were a little too close for comfort.  Being stuck out on the middle of a sand dune is not the ideal location during a lightning storm. After a brief period of assuming our lightning positions and getting caught in a downpour, Zeus was kind enough to spare us his wrath.