By Barbara Liston ORLANDO (Reuters) – Two species of butterflies that live in South Florida will be listed as endangered under federal law, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday. The official listing of the Bartram's scrub-hairstreak and Florida leafwing butterflies under the Endangered Species Act, expected on Tuesday, will make it illegal to capture or harm the butterflies, and their larvae. Both species were common around Miami and the Florida Keys until development wiped out much of their natural habitat, according to agency spokesman Ken Warren. The agency also designated a total of 11,539 acres in seven separate parcels in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties as critical habitat for the butterflies.
Endangered Florida butterflies to get federal protection
