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The Toledo Zoo's Butterfly Conservation Initiatives
| The more
people come to understand the fragile beauty and importance
of butterflies, the more people are inspired to protect them.
Here at The Toledo Zoo, we've made the conservation of our regional
winged wonders a top priority. |
Due
to loss of habitat, the Karner
blue butterfly is listed as both state and federally
endangered—it disappeared from Ohio in 1992. This disappearance
is due to a confluence of events related to development in
the region, including drainage of the water table and the
introduction of invasive non-native species that choked off
the growth of the lupines upon which the Karner blue feed.
The Karner blue butterfly had been a mainstay of the Oak Openings
Metropark's ecosystem, located in western Lucas County, so
The Toledo Zoo knew that a recovery plan was certainly in
order. Click here to watch a video about the Toledo Zoo's butterfly conservation efforts in Oak Openings from Wild Ohio, presented by the Wildlife Division of the Ohio Department of Natural resources.
You can visit our Butterfly Conservation Center on the Zoo grounds between June 5th and August 1st to see this conservation project in action for yourself! |
Male Karner blue
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In conjunction with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and The Nature Conservancy, the Zoo began restoring habitat at the Kitty Todd Preserve at Oak Openings. In addition the Zoo began working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, collecting female Karner blue specimens for captive breeding.
In 1998, The Toledo Zoo became the first institution to breed the Karner blue butterfly for reintroduction into the wild, and in 2002 the Association of Zoos and Aquariums presented the Zoo with the North American Conservation Award for the Oak Savanna Butterfly Conservation Program.
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male purplish copper
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The Zoo has also bred and released hundreds of purplish copper butterflies into the Oak Openings region. The purplish copper is state endangered and has only one known habitat in western Lucas County.
Look closely at the photograph on the left. Can you see the eggs on the leaves? (They appear as white dots). The photo on the right is a close-up of purplish copper eggs.
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purplish copper eggs
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In
addition, the Zoo continues to conduct research that develops
and refines breeding techniques for the Mitchell's
satyr and the swamp metalmark, two
critically endangered species of butterfly. By researching
and determining the optimal conditions for breeding these
insects in controlled environments, the Zoo plans to preserve
two species that have disappeared from Ohio and whose populations
are in severe decline in Michigan. |
Male swamp metalmark
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Mitchell's satyr eggs & larvae
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swamp metalmark larve
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Karner blue pupae
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The Toledo Zoo is proud to be a member of the Butterfly Conservation Initiative (BFCI).
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