Shrubland Lepidoptera of southern New England and southeastern New York: ecology, conservation, and management

Sandplain and ridgetop pitch pine (Pinus rigida)-scrub oak (Quercus ilicifolia) barrens and other shrub-dominated natural communities (e.g., heathlands and maritime shrublands) are important habitats for rare Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) in southern New England and southeastern New York. Fifty-six species of conservation concern representing I I families of Lepidoptera are recognized as dependent on shrubland habitats in this region, including 23% of Connecticut's state-listed Lepidoptera and 41% of state-listed moths and butterflies in Massachusetts. Sixteen (29%) of these 56 species utilize scrub oak as a larval host and eight species (14%) use lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium and V pallidum). In addition to Lepidoptera, a wide diversity of other invertebrates is dependent on pine barrens and other shrublands. The importance of these habitats results from unique edaphic conditions and temperature regimes, as well as the structure, species composition, and phenology of the plant community. Pine barrens and other shrublands in the northeastern United States are threatened by destruction and fragmentation, as well as fire exclusion and other alterations of natural disturbance regimes. Active management, including the application of prescribed fire, mechanical cutting, or a combination of the two, is critical to the maintenance of habitat structure and species composition in barrens and other shrublands within human-dominated landscapes of the northeastern United States. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.