Save The Karner Blue Butterfly
This is the ominous sign that greeted me at the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary last night, but I didn't let it stop me from entering. The Northeastern Wisconsin Audubon Society holds programs there that are open to the public and on Wednesday evening Cathy Carnes of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service presented information on the Karner Blue Butterfly, a federally endangered species.
The Karner blue was federally listed as an endangered species in 1992 and it's rare to see them in most parts of the country, but Wisconsin is home to the world's largest population of this butterfly. The Karner blues have a wingspan of about one inch and the adult butterflies live only 5-7 days.
Karner blues can be found in seven states - Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Indiana, New Hampshire, New York and Ohio. These states have an abundance of open areas with sandy soils that support the wild lupine plant. The caterpillar of the Karner blue feeds exclusively on lupine leaves.
This photo was taken last summer and even though I own two butterfly identification books, I'm still not sure what species it is. My guess is a swallowtail of some sort.
I have a sudden urge to grab a butterfly net and run out into a field of wild flowers in search of butterflies.
what a welcome sight ...
ReplyDeleteWe dream of seeing a karner blue someday. Our patch of lupine isn't huge but we can always hope.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice post. Really makes me long for summer!
Lovely! I wish I had known about the Karner Blue when we were in Wisconsin last summer.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any fields of wildflowers to run through right now? ;>))
I've never even heard of the Karner Blue! Now a seed has been planted and I'm wondering where in IN I could go to see one.....of course, not in January!
ReplyDeleteThere is something so fascinating in watching a butterfly in the flower bed. The Karner Blue is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe Karner Blue is lovely. I love those wild Lupines. Apparently wild Lupines even grow here in NC in the Sandhills, where the drainage is very sharp.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty butterfly, I'd never heard of them before.
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible at iding butterflies, probably because we don't see many varieties here. Won't it be nice when it's warm enough to see butterflies in our gardens again?!
Blue butterflies are so eye catching... yes, as others said, waiting (im)patiently for butterfly watching weather!!
ReplyDeleteI don't like I have ever seen a Karner Blue butterfly, but I will be keeping my look out for them this summer. Thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to Sunday to watch our favorite player!
ReplyDeleteNow that you have introduced me to the Karner Blue butterfly...I'll have to keep a look out for them here in Michigan. Although it won't be for a little while yet.
ReplyDeleteStill very little snowfall in Michigan this winter. I think we are at record lows, which is always bad for the Great Lake levels.
Hello Donna,
ReplyDeleteGlad you braved the sign. These Karner blues are so pretty. I have NEVER seen one in real life.
These photos are really lovely, you deserve to be running through fields of wildflowers, camera in hand, give the net to the coo coo kid.
Rosey
What a beautiful butterfly! Blue butterflies of any kind are very rare here, and I'm sure I've never seen a Karner Blue before. I'm no expert on butterflies, but the photo you show is some type of swallowtail, I'm sure. Oh, you're making me long for spring even more... I spend a lot of time in the summer and fall chasing butterflies with my camera:)
ReplyDeleteWow if only I could see butterflies now in my garden...that wouls mean spring is in the air and summer will follow soon. I'm done with wintertime and long for the warm nice evenings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sending some beauty my way.
I've been looking but never seen one yet. Someday, when I least expect it, one will be there. I hope anyway. :)
ReplyDeleteLove your photos, Donna. Blessed to see them in the garden, I have yet to capture them :(
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Karner Blue's are new to me. I think you should put on your calendar a date to run through a wildflower meadow in the spring or summer. Only bring a camera instead of a butterfly net! :-)
ReplyDeleteI so look forward to the return of the butterflies. I will be watching for the Karner blue, since we are bordered by New Hampshire and New York maybe I will be lucky enough to spot one. Thank you for sharing their story. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of the Karner Blue butterfly and thank you for the information.They are such beautiful creatures.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty black butterfly! Sometimes I have also the urge to grab a net every time I see butterflies..hehehe.
Great photos.
Have a nice day, Donna! and thank you for visiting my blog while I was away.
It was so hard to watch him get so banged up. He is the toughest person I have ever seen. What a sad way to end.
ReplyDeleteI'll be right behind you with my net....long winters tend to make a girl feel the need to run wild into the fields :)
ReplyDeleteHave you ever heard of Colormedaisy.blogspot.com by LadyBird?
ReplyDeleteShe would enjoy this...
try to comment this site onto one of her posts, she would love it!!!
I love black backgrounds, never change it! :) I do a linky on vacations, on mondays. Lovely posts like this would be most welcomed! Pretty photos. They are so clear you feel like you are there.
ReplyDeleteHi Donna,
ReplyDeleteI read your comments on Brenda's blog and just had to come over! I don't find Wisconsin bloggers that often and to top it off your post, we have a Karner Blue Butterfly Festival every summer. I live between LaCrosse and Eau Claire. Cindy
What a lovely butterfly. Perhaps if we travel north someday I might get to see one. I can certainly enjoy the photso though. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI too love trees in any season. Your photo with the evergreen,flag. and blue sky as a backdrop is beautiful. Stella
ReplyDeleteOooh! I have lupines in the yard, I'll have to watch for this butterfly! Thanks for the informative post.
ReplyDeleteYour blue butterfly here reminds me of the Blue Miami Butterfly which has only one very small colony at Bahia Honda State Park, which is right on the beach in the Keys. My daughter and I drove down to Key West one summer and was at this park, and later discovered how small a population they had become and we were standing right in the midle of the only ones of this species in the world, basically! That was so neat. Lucklly they are making efforts in expanding their territories! Yours is such a neat one also!!!
ReplyDelete