Nature Corner: Black and Blues

Karner blue butterfly image c/o U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Recently while planning a fishing trip/ nature excursion into Wisconsin, I stumbled across a beautiful little endangered butterfly located in the thousand-lake state. In the midwestern region of Wisconsin, around the Black River Falls area, the Karner Blue butterfly or Lycaeides melissa samuelis, makes it home, existing on wild lupine and a handful of other less-romantic sounding flowering plants in that region. (i.e flowering spurge)

Wisconsin is not the only home for this dainty blue lepidotera, it is actually the official state butterfly of New Hampshire, and can also be found in New Jersey, New York, and in the Indiana Dunes area. One of the coolest facts about this insect is its mutualistic relationship with ants. Mutualism in the natural world describes a beneficial relationship between two species, a sort of ‘you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours’ kinda thing. Anyone who has ever seen the National Geographic photos of the little birds standing in the crocodile’s mouth knows what I am talking about. The croc gets its teeth cleaned, the Crocodile Bird, as it is apply named, gets a nice little pre-chewed snack. Nature is a very humorous matchmaker, indeed. And so, the Karner Blue has a similar relationship with various ant species. The ants essentially act as shepherds, driving the young butterfly larva out to feed and guarding them from predators, like ladybugs, and then reaping the benefits of their secretions, which contain carbs and amino acids.

Various recovery plans (click for PDF) have been in the works to help aid the butterfly on its way out of endangerment, including a plan to elect the Blue as official state Butterfly of New York, as well as a celebratory festival held annually in the Black River Falls area, aptly named The Karner Blue Butterfly Festival. The next time you are driving through Black River Falls or through the Jersey Pine Barrens, keep an eye out for a little blue butterfly that, hopefully, will gain some ground and soon grace greater regions of our country, dotting the landscape with its staccato blue presence, and keeping the shepherding ants in tip top shape.

For more information about the Karner Blue Butterfly, visit:
*US Forest Service
*Chipper Woods Bird Observatory