Type: report

Article abstract: Despite vegetation that appears to be in very good condition in both 2019 and 2020, the distribution of Hermes copper retracted slightly from 2018 to 2019 and from 2019 to 2020. In addition, and most population sizes declined. The distribution is greatly reduced due to drought, with the species only being found on the southeastern margin of its historic range. Based on data from these 2020 surveys and the trajectories based on past sampling, this butterfly species is in risk of being lost from the United States in the near future. Considering that the distribution and population sizes of the species are not increasing when habitat conditions appear to be favorable, translocation and rearing techniques should be explored to increase the number of populations and the spatial extent of those populations. (Task 4: 2020 Hermes Copper Adult Surveys SANDAG Contract #: 5005783)