Zoo and WDFW Help Save Washington’s Rare Taylor’s Checkerspot

May 2007 marked the first time that Taylor’s checkerspot larvae raised in the Oregon Zoo’s butterfly conservation lab emerged as adults in the wild, marking a significant milestone in the effort to save this endangered Northwest butterfly. For the previous three years, the zoo has collaborated with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, developing husbandry protocols and rearing the checkerspots. In late March, the zoo, in conjunction with WDFW and the Xerces Society, released 199 checkerspot larvae on a prairie preserve near Olympia, Wash. Their work paid off, as colorful and distinctively patterned adult checkerspots began to emerge.

Once abundant in the Northwest, checkerspots historically occupied areas west of the Cascades from Oregon’s Willamette Valley up to British Columbia. Today, their range is limited to isolated habitats in western Washington. There are just 14 known locations in Washington with checkerspots, all of which are threatened by the loss of upland prairie habitat.

"Butterflies continue to disappear, which is troubling because they are such an important part of the ecosystem," says Mary Jo Andersen, zoo butterfly conservationist. "They are incredibly sensitive to environmental factors, making them perfect indicators of habitat health, and they also serve as essential pollinators."

Rearing rare butterflies comes with many challenges. One of them is growing the insects’ food. “If you raise caterpillars of any kind, your main concern is host plants,” says Andersen. The checkerspot’s life cycle, like that of many other butterfly species, mimics its host plant. For example, the larvae go dormant when the plant is unavailable, but awaken when their host plant is abundant. The checkerspot’s two host plants are harsh Indian paintbrush, Castilleja hispida, and plantago, Plantago lanceolota, both of which are raised on zoo grounds by the horticulture department.

Each day, the butterfly larvae are fed, watered and have their enclosures cleaned. Record keeping is done each day. In addition to conserving Taylor’s checkerspots, the zoo has had phenomenal success in its work with another endangered butterfly, the Oregon silverspot. Silverspots laid a record 8,000 eggs in the conservation lab last fall; the zoo plans to release the butterflies this summer at Cascade Head, Rock Creek and Bray Point.