Fender’s Blue

Endangered Fender’s blue butterflies face a double dilemma. First, their caterpillars will eat only Kincaid’s lupine, a threatened plant that is disappearing. Second, non-native weeds are crowding out the nectar plants the adult butterfly feeds upon. Kincaid’s lupine grows only in upland prairie in the Willamette Valley, and only scattered patches of that habitat still exist. The butterfly has disappeared from many of the remaining patches. The Oregon Zoo horticulture department has been collecting Kincaid’s lupine seeds in an effort to learn how to propagate these challenging plants.