Fun Facts
.jpg)
- Lycaeides melissa samuelis is federally endangered due to the destruction of the oak savannas and pine barrens that they inhabit (Lycaeides melissa samuelis 2010).
- The Karner Blue is non-migratory. Adults commonly do not venture more than 100-200 meters from their site of emergence. However some have been found to disperse upwards of three kilometers to avoid habitat destruction and areas where nectar is scarce (Lycaeides melissa samuelis 2010).
- Several species of ants have a symbiotic relationship with the Karner larvae and pupae. The ants protect the Karner from predators and parasites and in return, the Karner secretes a nectar-like solution for the ants to eat. (Chan 2006)
- Like several other species the Karner blue require periodical fires to maintain their habitat. In many cases fires do not occur often enough naturally, so prescribed burns are a type of human intervention that helps conserve their population (Goble 2012).
- A parasite in the genus Wolbachia threatens to bring the already endangered population of Karner blue to extinction. This alpha-Proteobacteria is maternally inherited and often manipulates their host’s reproductive biology. Therefore, an infected male becomes incapable of fertilizing the eggs of any female that is not infected with the same strain of Wolbachia (Nice 2009).
- The Karner blue butterfly serve as a pollinator to 40 different species of flowering plants including: butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), leafy spurge (Euphorbia podperae), blazing star (Liatris cylindracae), wild Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), Canadian horseweed (Conyza canadensis), spotted beebalm (Monarda punctata), white sweetclover (Melilotus alba), common cinquefoil (Potentilla simplex), goldenrods (Solidago spp.), and spotted knapweed (Centaurea maculosa) (Lycaeides melissa samuelis 2010).
Looking for a similar website or possibly more information on the Karner blue? Try these websites:
- Blue Karner Butterfly (a really neat slide show presentation)
- Michigan Nature Association - Flight of the Karner blue butterfly
- Wildlife Journal Junior - Karner Blue Butterfly
Click here to go back to the homepage.