In other words, like the canary in the coal mine, the demise of butterfly species can point out trouble in the habitat before it becomes otherwise obvious. . . For butterflies to survive and produce, the temperature, the timing of the rains, the growth and blossoming of their particular food plants-all must be minutely choreographed. So while flagging populations may indicate trouble, healthy butterfly populations can mean that the ecosystem's various organisms and cycles are still in balance.
Butterflies are also indicators of an area's richness of flora and fauna.
The diversity of butterfly species in a region tends to mirror the biodiversity of other animals and plants as well. Protecting the butterfly populations then means preserving a whole community of plants and animals. And because of their aesthetic appeal, butterflies help garner support for conservation of terrain that people might otherwise consider unlovable. In the San Francisco Bay area, the Bay checkerspot became an umbrella species for a particular type of increasingly rare habitat-serpentine grassland. When scientists discovered a Bay checkerspot colony on land slated for one of the nation's largest landfills, they convinced the waste disposal company that owned the land and the city of San Jose to design the dump around the habitat needs of the butterfly.