Development and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci in the endangered Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri)

The Miami blue butterfly (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri) is a state‐endangered taxon in Florida and a candidate for federal listing. Here we report 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci appropriate for use in population and conservation studies. We genotyped 114 individuals sampled from a metapopulation in the lower Florida Keys over a 2‐year period (2005–2006). These results show 4–14 alleles per locus, and ranges of observed and expected heterozygosities are 0.02679–0.79630 and 0.06154–0.69565, respectively. Large deviations from Hardy‐Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) are observed across the whole sample set. When a single breeding population is analysed alone, seven of the loci are in HWE.