By Peter Fimrite (SFgate)
Weed killers commonly used to control invasive plants in the Bay Area also kill off butterflies, a federal toxicology study has found.
Butterfly populations common to the Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge dropped by as much as a third when the larvae and host plants were sprayed with each of three standard herbicides, according to the study commissioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The findings do not bode well for the endangered Lange's metalmark, a once abundant butterfly that now exists only in the Antioch dunes.
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