BUTTERFLIES AND SKIPPERS OF CONSERVATION CONCERN IN BRITISH-COLUMBIA

A preliminary assessment of the status of the butterflies and skippers of conservation concern in the province of British Columbia, Canada i s provided. A conservation status is suggested for each species and su bspecies using criteria modeled after those of the Committee on the St atus of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and The Nature Conserv ancy (United States), with the assessments being solely the authors' r esponsibility. There are a total of 266 species and subspecies of butt erflies and skippers known from British Columbia. Of these, 52 species and subspecies (20%) are of conservation concern within British Colum bia, Twenty-four (9%) are of conservation concern for Canada as a whol e, and four (2%) are endemic to BC and therefore are of conservation c oncern globally. One subspecies is considered extinct, and one species and one subspecies extirpated from British Columbia. Thirty-eight spe cies and subspecies are considered endangered, threatened, or vulnerab le, and the remaining eleven are listed as 'status unknown'. These but terfly and skipper species and subspecies should be the focus of conse rvation efforts in British Columbia.