The Maritime Ringlet is one of Atlantic Canada's endangered lepidopterans. The upper side of most male Maritime Ringlet butterflies is dark ochre to ochre-brown. Then front-wong margins and the upper hind wing are smokey brown. The males darken as they age. The underside of the front wing is dark ochre and gray, with a creamy sideways band.

Some limiting factors of the Maritime Ringlet are that all of the stages in their life are subject to flooding in storm and high tides. In the winter, larvae in the marsh can be crushed because ice is pushed into the marsh. Human development is yet another factor.

New Brunswick's Endangered Species Act, lists the species as endangered. Two of the New Brunswick sites (Daly Point and Carron Point) are both included in conservation programs planned by New Brunswick Mines ans Smelting and the province of New Brunswick. Peter's river, the third and largest site, receives no written protection. The insect also does not get any legal stauts in Quebec. Throughout the early 1990's there has been some population demographic studies conducted to find out how many Maritime Ringlet remain.

The Maritime Ringlet is an important part of our environment and it is up to us to save it. It is part of a food chain that will suffer is this insect becomes extinct. Some studies have been conducted in the past, but we eed to keep coming up with up to date plans to save this insect from extinction.

Reference: http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/Species/English/SearchDetail.cfm?SpeciesID=304