The Karner Blue Butterfly
The Karner Blue Butterfly is on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services’ endangered species list. Much of this butterfly’s habitat has been lost to land development or wildfires. Because it is so rare and so beautiful it also continues to be prey for collectors.
The Karner Blue Butterfly is very tiny with a wingspan of only one inch. The male is blue and he has a black border. The female of the species is blue on top with grayish outer wings and bands of orange crescents inside of a black border. Both male and female are gray underneath with bands of orange crescents along both wings. There are also a few black spots with a white border.
Every year the Karner Blue Butterfly has two hatches of eggs--one in May and one in July. The butterflies who became adults in July will lay eggs that won’t hatch until the next May. One of the things that makes the Karner Blue Butterfly habitat so hard to maintain is the fact the butterfly only lays her eggs on wild lupine plants. The Karner Blue caterpillar feeds only on lupine plant leaves, and the adult butterfly collect nectar only from lupine. This means they can only survive in areas hospitable to the growth of wild lupine plants.
The Karner Blue Butterfly is found in a band that stretches across states of Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, New York and New Hampshire, with the largest population being in the state of Wisconsin.
Many things are being done to prevent the Karner Blue Butterfly from becoming extinct. It has been on the endangered species list since 1992. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Dept. has a recovery plan it has been implementing that involves restoring the species, researching the butterfly to find ways to manage its habitat, and to protect that habitat whenever possible.
Because the Karner Blue Butterfly needs the wild lupine plant for its survival, efforts are being directed towards managing and protecting pine and oak savanna/barrens where the lupine grows. The State of Wisconsin has its own habitat protection program.
One of the most successful efforts to date is reintroduction of the Karner Blue Butterflies into its habitat. There are zoos propagating the species and then releasing the butterflies into the states of Ohio, Indiana, and New Hampshire.
Even though the Karner Blue Butterfly is endangered there are still plenty of people out for nature walks trying to spot one of these rare butterflies. They are easily confused with the Spring Azure and the Eastern Tailed-Blue. Other rare butterflies you might spot who also need wild lupine for survival are the Persius Duskywing and the Frosted Elfin.