WASHINGTON— The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that three Brazilian butterflies will be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Today’s listing follows a 2021 lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity.

All three butterflies face serious threats, including habitat destruction and collection for international trade as décor.

“These striking butterflies need to stay in the wild to recover, and I’m so relieved the United States is finally stepping up to help them,” said Sarah Uhlemann, international program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These U.S. protections will go a long way toward keeping these three beleaguered butterflies from being plucked from their native habitat and brought into the country dead as décor.”

In 1994 a biologist petitioned the Service to list seven butterflies, including these three species, under the Endangered Species Act. The Service determined that their listing might be warranted but, despite the swallowtails being highly imperiled, the butterflies sat on the agency’s candidate waitlist for almost 30 years.

The legal agreement prompting today’s announcement set Endangered Species Act listing proposal deadlines for the Fluminense swallowtail, Harris’ mimic swallowtail and five other foreign bird and butterfly species.

“It’s good to see these swallowtails getting protections, but it’s shocking that it took 30 years to get action,” said Uhlemann. “As a major market for wildlife trade, the United States plays an integral role in protecting foreign species, but the Fish and Wildlife Service has to move way more quickly to combat the biodiversity crisis.”

Dozens of other foreign species currently await decisions by the Service. Despite 1 million species being on track for extinction in the current biodiversity crisis, the Fish and Wildlife Service has given Endangered Species Act protections to only two foreign species so far in 2024 — both are species of curassow birds from South America, which were also under court order.

More than 600 foreign species are listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The Act protects foreign endangered species by banning their import and sale, increasing awareness and providing financial assistance.

Species Backgrounds

Harris’ mimic swallowtail: This mostly black butterfly has beautiful white and rose-red markings. It only inhabits Brazil’s coastal Atlantic forest region and is threatened by habitat destruction and collection for international trade. It is listed as critically endangered on the Brazilian National Red List.

Hahnel’s Amazonian swallowtail: This butterfly is restricted to just three areas of sandy riverbank along tributaries of the Amazon in central Brazil and is threatened by overcollection.

Fluminense swallowtail: This white-and-black butterfly with red accents is considered locally extinct in some areas and continues to decline, primarily because of development-driven destruction of its tiny swamp habitat near Rio de Janeiro. The species has also been found in the insect curio trade.