extirpation of butterflies by weeds

[Kondla, Norbert FOR:EX]

recent article in Newsweek mentions that purple loosestrife has "overrun
wetlands in 42 states...and pushed several species of rare...butterflies to
the brink". can anyone provide citations for literature (formally published
or otherwise) on this topic and more generally on any weeds crowding out
butterfly food plants etc. if no literature comes to mind i would also be
interested in anecdotal reports. i am presently doing a survey of
butterflies in a very restricted ecosystem in southern bc but it is
disgustingly overrun by weeds and fear that continuation of this trend will
not bode well for certain butterfly species. information from other areas
will be helpful in crafting some management recommendations. thank you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Norbert Kondla  P.Biol., RPBio.
Forest Ecosystem Specialist, Ministry of Environment
845 Columbia Avenue, Castlegar, British Columbia V1N 1H3
Phone 250-365-8610
Mailto:Norbert.Kondla at gems3.gov.bc.ca
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca