Attempting to Reinstate the Karner Blue

Welcome to this week's edition of Something Wild. I'm Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Being the state insect has its advantages. For example, when the Karner Blue Butterfly disappeared from New Hampshire back in 2000, people didn't just throw up their hands and say, "Oh well, that stinks." Instead, state biologists got together and said, "Let's see if we can't bring back this important insect."

Today, the state Fish & Game Department appears to be bringing this blue butterfly back from beyond the brink. They devised a two-pronged approach - restore habitat AND create a captive breeding program.

The Karner Blue got in trouble because it is dependent upon a type of forest known as pine barrens. This habitat has lots of pitch pines and really poor soil, hence the name. Concord once had thousands of acres of pine barrens which remained intact because they were terrible for farming. In the 1980s, however, city planners decided that all that flat, well-drained soil was perfect for office parks, retail stores, and housing developments. In 1983, 4600 Karner Blues were recorded. Less than two decades later, however, the butterflies had completely disappeared.

Luckily, NY state gave NH enough eggs to start raising the butterfly in captivity. Each year, scientists have been releasing adult insects into the wild. They also worked with community residents to grow wild lupine - the most essential food for Karner Blue caterpillars. Last year, scientists released 1200 butterflies. And now it appears that they are finally breeding on their own.

Of course, there's still work to be done. Biologists are working within former pine barren communities to get homeowners, schools and businesses to plant wild lupine. The Concord Airport and National Guard have set aside land as butterfly habitat. Hope is on the wing.

To find out how you can help out our state insect, visit the Something Wild section of the NHPR website. And thanks.

Something Wild is a joint production of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, New Hampshire Audubon, and NHPR.

For Something Wild, I'm Rosemary Conroy.