The butterfly with the Argentine flag went from being just an emotional and local symbol to becoming one Species with maximum legal protection in the province of Buenos Aires. The Buenos Aires legislature passed the law declaring this Provincial natural monumenta category whose aim is not only the conservation of the insect, but also the protection of the ecosystem on which it depends.
The Argentine flag butterfly is known for its light blue white colorsymbolically linked to our pavilion. The most relevant population groups from a demographic perspective are concentrated in Punta Lara, Punta Indio and the island of Martín García. In its larval phase, the species maintains a close relationship with the native flora of the talar, particularly the crown (Scutia buxifolia), although other species such as ingá (Inga uraguensis), the Bugre (Lonchocarpus nitidus), the pink feather duster (Calliandra parvifolia), the Yatevó (Guadua trinii) and he whips horses (Luehea divaricata).
Its new status as a natural monument grants it throughout the Buenos Aires area within the framework of the Law No. 10,907. The rule prohibits butterfly hunting, including any act of searching, pursuing, harassing, harassing or capturing specimens. It also prevents the modification of its natural environment, including the destruction or alteration of the environment in which it lives and any actions that affect the biological balance of its populations.
“We fought for the declaration of this species, but not just this species, because we not only wanted the butterfly to be protected, but also to function as such.” An umbrella species has to take care of its home, its habitat, the local forest“explained Florencia Tuñón, park ranger.
As explained in detail, the figure of the natural monument represents the highest category of protection in the province and aims to also protect the crown, its host tree. “In the area, people often cut off crowns in winter to keep warm. In the past, when a food company had quarries in Magdalena, these were also cut down because it was much needed and practically the only firewood available,” he added.
According to the law it is Executive power is authorized to draw up a conservation plan that makes the declaration of a natural monument effective. This plan must provide for regular studies on the status of the population and the causes of its decline, educational campaigns that promote the conservation of the species and facilitate its identification, the planning and dissemination of specific conservation measures and mechanisms for cooperation with the community Preserve the native forests where you stay.
Beyond the milestone in the protection of biological diversity, the new designation also moved those who have worked for its protection for years. This is the case of Laura Gravino, photographer and reference of the project. “It’s a love story. It’s 22 years of love, more than with any partner I’ve had. On Valentine’s Day I celebrate her with the butterfly with the Argentine flag“, held.
Gravino met the insect in February 2003 while traveling to San José in Entre Ríos shortly after his father’s death. She camped there with her daughters Zoe and Ona, and this meeting marked the beginning of their bond. “I was very sad, I had just lost my father. And I connected with hundreds of butterflies in a native forest“I felt like fairies, they were following me with their undulating flight,” he recalled. In this place he took some of his most emblematic images of the species he defines as the “Flag of the Little Entre Ríos” and began his photographic work and his emotional attachment to the butterfly.
The turning point came in 2010, when he returned to Punta Indio and followed the trail of an old map he had inherited from his grandfather. “I looked for a field marked in my grandfather’s handwriting. And I found her with her undulating flight.” They danced in the local forestat the level of the Villoldo stream; I will never forget this sequence. I have found my grandfather’s land, but above all, I have found one of my most precious jewels: the queen of the local forest. “My beloved little flag,” he explained.
He settled there and began holding photographic exhibitions in the forest and giving lectures based on empirical findings. “After what I observed, I wrote it down Butterfly’s Diarya future book I want to put together from photography and knowledge. And the Argentine Flag Butterfly project began“, held.
His conservation and environmental education project emerged as a photographic initiative. Gravino worked for 25 years as an institutional photographer for the Zoological Garden of the City of Buenos Aires, now Ecoparque, and the protection of the butterfly was the natural continuity of her mission of conservation and environmental awareness. “I was pleased with the camera’s function as a preservation tool.“, he summarized.
His passion for the insect continued and grew over time. “I fell more and more in love with the butterfly, its cycles and how it survived the frosts in the community. In 2012, I realized that something more needed to be done: give it visibility and commit the community to its protection. I knew that a conservation project needs institutional support, local work and a lot of passion. That’s why I asked for help and collaborated Claudio Bertonatti, “Former director of the Exzoo, we wrote the proposal that I presented at Verónica Plaza,” he said. In this text he called for the butterfly to be designated as the emblematic species of the Punta Indio district, along with the Coronillo, its host plant.
This path led to the first formal protection in the Punta Indio District on December 24, 2012, when the Advisory Council unanimously passed a resolution declaring the Argentine flag butterfly a local symbolic species and also protecting the Coronillo.
Since then, Gravino has maintained his involvement through various community initiatives. One of them is this caterpillaran educational action that aims to make the butterfly’s most vulnerable stage visible: the caterpillarwhose development can take up to eight months and depends entirely on the crown. The initiative came after warnings that the main danger was cutting down trees for firewood, especially in winter. Boys and girls from kindergartens and schools like Orugazo Special school 501 René Favaloro and the Garden 904 of Punta Indio They build caterpillars from recycled materials and symbolically place them on trees, in collective actions carried out on dates such as Arbor Day (August 29).
Marked This is another project that emerged from this territorial work. This program was created in 2012 together with teachers from the 501 René Favaloro Special School and has the butterfly with the Argentine flag as its axis Identity, environment and education symbol. The proposal is to create butterfly-shaped rosettes made by children from different materials. The initiative was adopted by various municipalities, which declared the cockade an official, and it spread to numerous schools in Buenos Aires, up to the Island Martin García.
In addition, the law recognizes as Argentine Flag Butterfly Festival Provincial Festivalwhich is celebrated every February in Punta Indio.
The celebration was sponsored by Gravino. “When I presented the project symbolic species, I met to Gabriel Dalusio, then biology professor and secretary of the mayor’s office. One day I called him and told him, “We have to have the butterfly party because it will be the only insect in the world that has its own party,” and we did it. He supported me in everything; “I always say that it is very important to find someone with an institutional foundation,” he said.
In 2026 the event will take place on a daily basis The event will take place on February 21st and 22nd and is now in its eleventh year.
For park ranger Florencia Tuñón, The connection to the butterfly with the Argentine flag came from the area and his daily work. With 25 years of experience in various reserves of Buenos Aires, his roots are mainly consolidated in the Southern Coastal Park, in the municipalities of Magdalena and Punta Indio, where he carried out control and inspection tasks in designated areas. Wildlife sanctuary.
In 2015, when there were still no specific laws protecting the native forest or the coronillo, Tuñón came across the work already promoted by Gravino and teachers from the 501 René Favaloro Special School, such as Estela and Alicia. From his institutional role, he began to actively engage in the protection of the species whose conservation fell within his purview, since they were areas where hunting was prohibited. From monitoring habitat to controlling threats to supporting an initiative that expresses environmental education, community and conservation.
Tuñón emphasized that the process was bottom-up. “We worked hard with the municipalities of Magdalena and Punta Indio. We managed to get the mayors to adopt the protection of the butterfly as public policy, initially through municipal ordinances, and This allowed it to be visible in the province of Buenos Aires until it was declared a natural monument, which corresponds to the highest category of protection.“he said. He also emphasized that the enforcement agency will be the Ministry of Environment, which will be responsible for monitoring, environmental education and inspection tasks.
With this addition, the butterfly with the Argentine flag was added to the list of natural monuments of the province of Buenos Aires along with the Franciscan dolphinThe Dune lizardHe red gooseHe Pampas deerHe Ventana HillHe Crystal tree and the Copper iguana
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