A male mission blue butterfly resting on a leaf in Twin Peaks in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, May 6, 2010. The endangered species is from the Lycaenidae family and it's wingspan is 1 to 1.5 ...

The delicate and distinctive Mission Blue Butterfly was first discovered in San Francisco’s Mission District around 1937. Since then, the city’s layout has changed considerably, rendering much ...

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Biologists trekked the southern slope of San Bruno Mountain and kept their eyes peeled for the gossamer wings of the small Mission Blue butterfly known to flit around and ...

The small but striking Mission Blue Butterfly hadn't been spotted in San Francisco in years, until Thursday. Biologist Liam O'Brien spotted one on the wing a year after volunteers had carefully ...

It’s a beautiful orange, blue and purple forest of sunflowers, poppies, leafy plants, Mission Blue butterflies and Victorian houses. One side of the painting is taken up entirely by the hopeful figure ...

Now is the time to see the growing numbers of the mission blue butterfly, which has a home on San Bruno Mountain because of activists who worked to stave off dramatic development plans decades ago ...

The Mission blue butterfly lives exclusively around the San Bruno Mountain in California. There are an estimated 18,000 adults remaining in their original region. While its bright blues may seem ...

About 175 Monterey cypress and pine trees in the Marin Headlands must be cut down next month to improve living conditions for the endangered mission blue butterfly.

The park service is spending $209,000 to yank out the trees. The Headlands is one of three areas nationally where the federally endangered mission blue butterfly still thrives.

The mission blue butterfly (Icaricia icariodes missionensis) is a unique subspecies of Boiduval’s blue butterfly that was first discovered in San Francisco in 1937.

A Mission blue butterfly rests on a silver lupine flower on Twin Peaks in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, April 16, 2009. Members of San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department along with ...