Bogbean Buckmoth

Species information

This chapter provides a review of progress towards the protection and recovery of Bogbean Buckmoth in Ontario from 2007 to 2016.

Bogbean Buckmoth (Hemileuca sp.) is a day-flying medium-sized silk moth with a black body and forewing lengths of 26 to 36 millimetres. The wings are black with wide white central bands; each wing has a distinctive eyespot. The larvae are mostly black with reddish-orange branched spines.

Fewer than ten populations of Bogbean Buckmoth are known to occur in North America, in New York State and the province of Ontario. The species inhabits open, calcium-rich fens (marshy wetlands with peaty soil low in acidity) with low shrubs including abundant Bogbean. It has been documented within two wetlands in southeastern Ontario, the Richmond Fen Wetland and the White Lake Fen Wetland Complex.

Bogbean Buckmoth faces several threats to its survival and recovery, primarily habitat loss and degradation caused by invasive species, hydrological changes, succession, and climate change. The species is also limited by the fact that it is a specialist, meaning that it has highly specific biological needs. The fens in which it occurs are relatively scarce in southern Ontario, but provide the necessary growing conditions for the Bogbean plant (Menyanthes trifoliate) that early stage larvae depend on as a food source. These strict habitat limitations, together with the limited dispersal ability of the moth, mean that the species is vulnerable to loss of genetic diversity.

Bogbean Buckmoth is listed as endangered at both the provincial (Species at Risk in Ontario List) and federal (Schedule 1 under the Species at Risk Act) levels. Globally, it is considered to be critically imperiled (NatureServe).

Provincial status

The Committee on the Status of Species at Risk in Ontario (COSSARO) assessed Bogbean Buckmoth as endangered. As a result, it was added to the Species at Risk in Ontario List under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA or “the Act”) in 2010. In future assessments, COSSARO may consider information gained through protection and recovery actions regarding the species’ threats and trends in population and distribution.

Species and habitat protection

Protecting Bogbean Buckmoth and its habitat are key components in the implementation of the ESA, and continue to be government-led actions, as identified in the government response statement. As an endangered species, it has been protected from being killed, harmed, harassed, captured or taken under the ESA since it was listed in 2010. In addition, the species’ habitat has been protected from being damaged or destroyed since 2010. Habitat protection for the species was initially based on the general habitat definition in the ESA. The habitat of Bogbean Buckmoth is now protected through a habitat regulation that came into force in 2014.

The government developed a regulation (Ontario Regulation 242/08, section 24.1.1.1) to provide clarity to the public and others on what areas are protected as Bogbean Buckmoth habitat. The regulated habitat includes areas that are required by the species to carry out its life processes (e.g., reproduction and feeding) within its range in Ontario. The habitat regulation was developed based on information about the habitat needs of the species as well as social and economic factors, collected from a variety of sources including comments received through public consultation.

Any person who negatively impacts Bogbean Buckmoth or its habitat without prior authorization may be prosecuted under the ESA.

In addition, the habitat of Bogbean Buckmoth has been protected from being damaged or destroyed since 2010. Habitat protection was initially based on the general habitat definition in the ESA. The habitat of Bogbean Buckmoth is now protected through a habitat regulation that came into force in 2014.

Recovery strategy

A recovery strategy for Bogbean Buckmoth was published on December 7, 2011, which was within the timeframe required by the ESA. Recovery strategies are advice to government and represent the best available scientific knowledge. The strategy identifies the habitat needs of the species and the threats that it faces, while recommending objectives and approaches for its protection and recovery. The recovery strategy also includes recommendations on the areas of habitat to be considered in the development of a habitat regulation.

Government response statement

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“the Ministry”) published the government response statement (GRS) for Bogbean Buckmoth on September 7, 2012, which was within the timeframe required by the ESA. The GRS is government policy that contains the Government of Ontario’s goal for the recovery of Bogbean Buckmoth.

To help achieve this goal, the government leads and supports recovery actions identified in the GRS. Common actions for the government to lead as it works towards achieving a species’ recovery goal are provided in section 2.5 of the Species at Risk Program Status (2008-2015).

The GRS for Bogbean Buckmoth also lists five actions the Ministry supports others to undertake for the species. These government-supported actions fall under the objectives identified in the GRS, which are:

• Determine distribution and abundance of Bogbean Buckmoth; and
• Evaluate threats and, where appropriate, implement mitigation measures.

Supporting our partners

An important government-led action in the GRS for Bogbean Buckmoth is to support partners to undertake activities to protect and recover the species. To-date, no authorizations or regulatory provisions have been issued or registered for the species.

Through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program the Ministry has supported one project designed to contribute to the protection and recovery of Bogbean Buckmoth. This project targeted multiple species at risk, including Bogbean Buckmoth. Partners reported that they were successful in securing additional funding from other sources that included additional funding and in-kind support in the form of time and expertise provided by volunteers.

Stewardship partners reported that provincial funding helped them to secure in-kind support by involving four individuals who volunteered 28 hours of their time toward protection and recovery activities for multiple species at risk, including Bogbean Buckmoth.

The following paragraph highlights the project supported through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program as well as the corresponding government-supported recovery actions for the species.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation launched the Cryptic Species program in 2012 to address knowledge gaps related to lack of species occurrence information for species at risk that are difficult to find or identify. The project was implemented to gain a better understanding of the distribution and abundance of these cryptic species so that effective protection and recovery actions can be undertaken. The multi-species project was conducted during the 2013 field season and involved targeted searches for Bogbean Buckmoth, among other species at risk including Eastern Prairie Fringed-orchid (Platanthera leucophaea). While the surveys did not find Bogbean Buckmoth, they have improved our understanding of where the species is known to occur. This project provides information to support the high-priority GRS action to develop and implement a standardized inventory and monitoring program for Bogbean Buckmoth at occupied and unoccupied sites with suitable habitat to determine current population numbers and trends.

Occurrences of Bogbean Buckmoth in Ontario

Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC)

Bogbean Buckmoth is known to occur in four populations^{footnote i[i]} in Ontario. All four populations are considered extant (i.e., observed within the past 20 years) and are located in two wetlands in eastern Ontario. Two of the populations are located within a fen complex near White Lake, south of Arnprior; the other two are located within the Richmond Fen, south of Ottawa. Due to the limited dispersal ability of Bogbean Buckmoth, Ontario populations appear fragmented and isolated from one another.

Since the species was listed in 2010, the Ministry’s central depository at the Natural Heritage Information Centre (NHIC) has received approximately 46 records of the species. These records are based on observations between 1977 and 2011 and come from a variety of sources. Records submitted have helped to redefine where the species is known and has been known to occur and can provide additional information on the species’ habitat and threats. Observations in 2011 have reconfirmed that the two populations in the Richmond Fen are still extant. No new populations of Bogbean Buckmoth have been identified since the species was listed. Ontario populations of Bogbean Buckmoth have been monitored intermittently and the species’ population sizes tend to vary significantly from one year to the next, making it difficult to determine long-term population trends. However, all extant populations have been determined to have good to excellent estimated viability.

It is possible that there are observations of Bogbean Buckmoth that have not been submitted to the Ministry. Encouraging the submission of Bogbean Buckmoth observations to the Ministry is included in the GRS as a government-led action. Submission of species observations to the Ministry increases our knowledge of where they occur and can play an important role in assessing the viability of populations.

Everyone is encouraged, or may be required by an authorization or approval, to submit observations of Bogbean Buckmoth, and any other species at risk observed, to the Natural Heritage Information Centre for incorporation into the provincial record of observations.

Summary of progress towards meeting the recovery goal

Summary of progress

Progress has been made toward all of the government-led actions and two of the government-supported actions outlined in the GRS for Bogbean Buckmoth. The Government of Ontario has directly undertaken actions to:

• Educate other agencies and authorities involved in planning and environmental assessment processes on the protection requirements under the ESA.
• Encourage submission of Bogbean Buckmoth data to the Ministry’s central repository at the Natural Heritage Information Centre.
• Undertake communications and outreach to increase public awareness of species at risk in Ontario.
• Protect the Bogbean Buckmoth and its habitat through the ESA. Develop and enforce a regulation identifying the specific habitat of the species.
• Support conservation, agency, municipal and industry partners and Indigenous communities to undertake activities to protect and recover the Bogbean Buckmoth.
• Support will be provided where appropriate through funding, agreements, permits (including conditions) and advisory services.
• Establish and communicate annual priority actions for government support in order to encourage collaboration and reduce duplication of efforts.

Government-supported actions are organized under over-arching recovery objectives. Initial progress has been made toward all of the government-supported recovery objectives and two of the associated actions that are identified in the GRS for Bogbean Buckmoth.

Under the objective to determine distribution and abundance of Bogbean Buckmoth, initial progress has been made towards the action:

• Develop and implement a standardized inventory and monitoring program for Bogbean Buckmoth at occupied and unoccupied sites with suitable habitat to determine current population numbers and trends (Action No. 1; High Priority).

This action has been implemented, in part, through a multi-species survey and monitoring project supported by the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund that included Bogbean Buckmoth. Surveys for the species were conducted in suitable habitat, and while no moths were found, the results contribute to our knowledge of where the species is known to occur.

Under the objective to evaluate threats and, where appropriate, implement mitigation measures, initial progress has been made towards one action:

• Assess the risk posed to Bogbean Buckmoth by invasive species and, where appropriate, implement invasive species control within and adjacent to occupied fen ecosystems (Action 2; High Priority).

Initial progress towards this action has been implemented through the government-led Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan and Ontario’s Invasive Species Act that provide the policy and legislative framework for the prevention, detection, response and management goals for Ontario.

The recovery goal for Bogbean Buckmoth is to sustain current population levels and distributions at existing locations, and to encourage the natural expansion of the species into suitable but currently unoccupied habitat within its current range in Ontario. Effort made toward the government-led and government-supported GRS actions has helped to make progress towards this goal. Further work is required to determine whether natural expansion of the species into suitable habitat has occurred within its range. Because Ontario populations of Bogbean Buckmoth have been monitored only intermittently and population sizes vary significantly from one year to the next, long-term population trends are difficult to predict. However, the provincial record of observations indicates that current population levels are persisting at existing locations and these populations have good to excellent estimated viability. This information suggests that Bogbean Buckmoth populations are exhibiting trends consistent with the GRS recovery goal to sustain current population levels. Also, the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan and the Ontario Invasive Species Act, 2015 provide a comprehensive framework for invasive species management in Ontario, in particular European Common Reed, that support the high priority GRS action to assess the risk posed to Bogbean Buckmoth by invasive species and, where appropriate, implement invasive species control.

Recommendations

As stated in the GRS, the review of progress towards protecting and recovering Bogbean Buckmoth can be used to help identify whether adjustments are needed to achieve the protection and recovery of the species. Based on progress to-date, the overall direction provided in the GRS for Bogbean Buckmoth should continue to guide protection and recovery actions for the species, particularly for those actions identified as high priority in the GRS.

Moving forward, protecting and recovering Bogbean Buckmoth will continue to be a shared responsibility that will require the involvement of many individuals, organizations and communities. Financial support for the implementation of actions may be available through the Species at Risk Stewardship Program. The Ministry can also advise if any authorizations under the ESA or other legislation may be required to undertake a project. By working together, progress can continue to be made toward protecting and recovering Bogbean Buckmoth in Ontario.

Summary of progress toward the protection and recovery of Bogbean Buckmoth (2007 to 2016)

Provincial status

Bogbean Buckmoth is classified as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA). The species has been protected from being killed, harmed, harassed, captured or taken and its habitat has been protected from damage or destruction under the ESA since 2010. Habitat protection for the species is now based on a habitat regulation that came into force in 2014.

Species-specific documents and guidance published by the government

• Recovery strategy for Bogbean Buckmoth (2011)
• Bogbean Buckmoth: Ontario Government Response Statement (2012)
• Bogbean Buckmoth Habitat Regulation (Ontario Regulation 242/08) (2014)

Supporting our partners

• Through the Species at Risk Stewardship Fund, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“the Ministry”) has enabled its stewardship partners to conduct one project that has supported the protection and recovery of multiple species at risk, including Bogbean Buckmoth.
• The Ministry’s support helped its stewardship partners to involve four individuals who volunteered 28 hours of their time toward protection and recovery activities for species at risk, including Bogbean Buckmoth.

Occurrences and distribution

Four populations of Bogbean Buckmoth have been documented in eastern Ontario. Currently, all of these populations are considered to be extant. Two populations in the Richmond Fen were reconfirmed in 2011. Since 2010, no change in status of the populations has occurred and all have good to excellent estimated viability.

Related information

• Categorizing and Protecting Habitat under the Endangered Species Act
• Habitat Regulation Summary for Bogbean Buckmoth
• Natural Heritage Information Centre
• Ontario’s Endangered Species Act
• Ontario’s Endangered Species Act Regulation 242/08
• Ontario Recovery Strategy and Government Response Statement for Bogbean Buckmoth
• Policy Guidance on Harm and Harass under the Endangered Species Act
• Species at Risk in Ontario List
• Species at Risk Stewardship Fund

References

COSEWIC. 2009. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Bogbean Buckmoth Hemileuca sp. in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vii + 29 pp.