Karner Blue Butterfly
(Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
By: Daniela Freccero
What is the Karner Blue Butterfly?
This is a small butterfly with a rounded wingspan of about 2.5 cm. On the ventral side of their wings, they are a grayish fawn color and have a strip of orange crescents and black spots surrounded by white on both wings. Males have a silvery or dark blue topside with narrow black margins and continuous bands of orange spots along the edges of both wings. On the outer side, females are grayish brown with a blue topside and orange crescents inside the narrow back border. It has 4 stages in its life cycle: the egg, the larva (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult (butterfly). Every year, there are two generations. In the first one, adults arrive in May to mid-June. Females lay eggs that hatch in 7-8 days, but only 40-50% of the eggs survive to the adult stage. The second generation emerges in mid-July to early August and lay their eggs that hatch the next May.Adults are nectar-feeders, so they encourage the pollination of a variety of wildflowers including rock cress, raspberry, goldenrod, and butterflyweed. The highly specialized larvae only feed on the wild blue lupine leaves. The Karner Blue butterfly depends on blue lupine for its survival.
Check out this video to learn more: http://www.defendersblog.org/2013/05/road-to-recovery-the-karner-blue-butterfly/
Where are they found?
This butterfly is mainly found in dry sandy areas with open woods and clearings including lakeshore dunes, pine barrens, and sandy pine prariers that hold a lot of wild blue lupine. In the past, it was continuously found in many different places but is now mostly found in Wisconsin, but can be found in parts of Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Illinois.
What happened to them?
Over the last 100 years, this species had declined by 99% and was federally listed as an endangered species in 1992. This species has two main threats: habitat loss and collection. Due to land development and a lack of natural disturbance (ex. wildfire and grazing by large animals), the habitat throughout the range of these butterflies has been destroyed. This disturbance helps maintain the butterfly’s habitat because it encourages lupine plant growth, which these butterflies depend on. The other threat is due to this butterfly’s rare beauty which makes it very desirable for people who have butterfly collections. Although, these collections are illegal without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the population is so low which can negatively affect the entire butterfly population.
Road to Recovery
During the last decade, conservation groups in New Hampshire and Ohio have been reintroducing captive-bred butterfly populations and have been successfully breeding them into the wild. In 2003, the Federal Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan was introduced which outlines a plan to restore the species over a 20 year period:
Recovery Tasks:
1. Protect and manage the Karner blue butterfly and its habitat to maintain metapopulations of these butterflies.
2. Evaluate and implement translocation where appropriate.
3. Develop wide-range and regional management guidelines.
4. Develop and implement information and education program.
5. Collect important ecological data on the Karner blue and associated habitats.
6. Review and track recovery progress.
A collaboration of the efforts of DEC, NY's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Albany Pine Bush Commission as well as the help of local towns and counties, and the cooperation of private landowners is the biggest hope for the recovery of this unique species.
Want to Help?
Although scientists and others have been working very hard to find ways to save the Karner Blue Butterfly, it is a very difficult and long process. We can try to help and possibly help save other species of butterflies by:
Learn- It is important to learn more about this species and other endangered species, especially about the destruction of their habitats. Then, spread the news!
Volunteer- You can volunteer at a nearby zoo, nature center, or National Wildlife Refuge
Join- Join a conservation group
Plant- You can plant a garden with many flowers and plants that attract butterflies
To learn how to plant a butterfly garden, visit: http://www.nhptv.org/wild/karnerbutterflygarden.asp
Click here to listen to Cathy Carnes, a field biologist who has helped recover Karner blue butterflies since 1992:
Works Cited
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/kbb/kbb_fact.html
http://www.defendersblog.org/2013/05/road-to-recovery-the-karner-blue-butterfly/
(Lycaeides melissa samuelis)
By: Daniela Freccero
What is the Karner Blue Butterfly?
This is a small butterfly with a rounded wingspan of about 2.5 cm. On the ventral side of their wings, they are a grayish fawn color and have a strip of orange crescents and black spots surrounded by white on both wings. Males have a silvery or dark blue topside with narrow black margins and continuous bands of orange spots along the edges of both wings. On the outer side, females are grayish brown with a blue topside and orange crescents inside the narrow back border. It has 4 stages in its life cycle: the egg, the larva (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult (butterfly). Every year, there are two generations. In the first one, adults arrive in May to mid-June. Females lay eggs that hatch in 7-8 days, but only 40-50% of the eggs survive to the adult stage. The second generation emerges in mid-July to early August and lay their eggs that hatch the next May.Adults are nectar-feeders, so they encourage the pollination of a variety of wildflowers including rock cress, raspberry, goldenrod, and butterflyweed. The highly specialized larvae only feed on the wild blue lupine leaves. The Karner Blue butterfly depends on blue lupine for its survival.
Check out this video to learn more: http://www.defendersblog.org/2013/05/road-to-recovery-the-karner-blue-butterfly/
Where are they found?
This butterfly is mainly found in dry sandy areas with open woods and clearings including lakeshore dunes, pine barrens, and sandy pine prariers that hold a lot of wild blue lupine. In the past, it was continuously found in many different places but is now mostly found in Wisconsin, but can be found in parts of Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Illinois.
This butterfly is mainly found in dry sandy areas with open woods and clearings including lakeshore dunes, pine barrens, and sandy pine prariers that hold a lot of wild blue lupine. In the past, it was continuously found in many different places but is now mostly found in Wisconsin, but can be found in parts of Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Illinois.
What happened to them?
Over the last 100 years, this species had declined by 99% and was federally listed as an endangered species in 1992. This species has two main threats: habitat loss and collection. Due to land development and a lack of natural disturbance (ex. wildfire and grazing by large animals), the habitat throughout the range of these butterflies has been destroyed. This disturbance helps maintain the butterfly’s habitat because it encourages lupine plant growth, which these butterflies depend on. The other threat is due to this butterfly’s rare beauty which makes it very desirable for people who have butterfly collections. Although, these collections are illegal without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service because the population is so low which can negatively affect the entire butterfly population.
Road to Recovery
During the last decade, conservation groups in New Hampshire and Ohio have been reintroducing captive-bred butterfly populations and have been successfully breeding them into the wild. In 2003, the Federal Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan was introduced which outlines a plan to restore the species over a 20 year period:
Recovery Tasks:
1. Protect and manage the Karner blue butterfly and its habitat to maintain metapopulations of these butterflies.
2. Evaluate and implement translocation where appropriate.
3. Develop wide-range and regional management guidelines.
4. Develop and implement information and education program.
5. Collect important ecological data on the Karner blue and associated habitats.
6. Review and track recovery progress.
A collaboration of the efforts of DEC, NY's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Albany Pine Bush Commission as well as the help of local towns and counties, and the cooperation of private landowners is the biggest hope for the recovery of this unique species.
A collaboration of the efforts of DEC, NY's Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, The Nature Conservancy, and the Albany Pine Bush Commission as well as the help of local towns and counties, and the cooperation of private landowners is the biggest hope for the recovery of this unique species.
Want to Help?
Although scientists and others have been working very hard to find ways to save the Karner Blue Butterfly, it is a very difficult and long process. We can try to help and possibly help save other species of butterflies by:
Volunteer- You can volunteer at a nearby zoo, nature center, or National Wildlife Refuge
Join- Join a conservation group
Plant- You can plant a garden with many flowers and plants that attract butterflies
To learn how to plant a butterfly garden, visit: http://www.nhptv.org/wild/karnerbutterflygarden.asp
Click here to listen to Cathy Carnes, a field biologist who has helped recover Karner blue butterflies since 1992:
Works Cited
http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/insects/kbb/kbb_fact.html
http://www.defendersblog.org/2013/05/road-to-recovery-the-karner-blue-butterfly/
http://www.defendersblog.org/2013/05/road-to-recovery-the-karner-blue-butterfly/
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