ROYAL OAK, Mich., June 28, 2007 – The Detroit Zoo has begun a captive rearing program for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly as part of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Karner Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan.  Laura Palombi, Associate Curator of Invertebrates, is releasing butterflies produced at the Zoo in a restored habitat at the Kitty Todd Preserve near Toledo, Ohio over the next two weeks.

“The long-range goal of this federal program is to protect existing populations of Karner blues and reestablish new, viable populations within their historical range,” said Palombi.  “The ultimate goal is to eventually remove Karner blue butterflies from the federal list of endangered species.” 

The Karner blue (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about one inch which lives in oak savanna habitats ranging from Minnesota to Maine.  The butterfly, once common in Michigan, has not been seen in this area since 1987.   

The caterpillars of the Karner blue feed exclusively on the leaves of wild lupine (Lupinus perennis).  Fire suppression coupled with the conversion of land to agriculture, residential areas and other uses have severely reduced the range and availability of wild lupine.  The ecosystems historically were maintained by fires, which kept the open savanna from turning into forest. 

Adult female Karner blue butterflies were collected in late May from the Allegan State Game Area and transported to the Detroit Zoo, where they were fed daily and held in individual enclosures over lupine plants on which they laid their eggs.  Each female can lay over 100 eggs. 

The caterpillars that hatch are monitored daily until they reach the chrysalis stage, which takes about three to four weeks.  About 10 days later adult butterflies emerge, which are transported within days of emerging to release sites in Ohio.  It is hoped that release sites currently being prepared in Michigan will be ready to receive butterflies in 2008.

The Detroit Zoological Society is a non-profit organization that operates the Detroit Zoo and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.  Situated on 125 acres of naturalistic exhibits, the Detroit Zoo is located at the intersection of Ten Mile Road and Woodward Avenue, just off I-696, in Royal Oak.  The Detroit Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October – with extended hours until 8 p.m. Wednesdays during July and August – and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March.  Admission is $11.00 for adults 13 to 61, $9.00 for senior citizens 62 and older, and $7.00 for children ages 2 to 12; children under 2 are free.  For more information, call (248) 541-5717 or visit www.detroitzoo.org.  The Belle Isle Nature Zoo is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April through October and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. November through March, and provides educational programming with interpretive staff support from the Huron-Clinton Metroparks.  For more information, call (313) 852-4056. 

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