Silverspot butterfly numbers are plummeting

The last few years haven’t been good for the Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta). Already a threatened species with just four populations on the Oregon Coast, the yellow-orange butterfly’s numbers plummeted even lower in recent years, biologists said. The silverspot declined from a population of thousands to as little as 120 on Mount Hebo, the species' largest population in Oregon, according to a report by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Similar declines took place at the species' three other population centers in Oregon — Cascade Head, Rock Creek Wilderness and Bray Point on the central coast.

To combat the decline, USFWS and state agencies are proposing a reintroduction of silverspots at two new coastal sites in the spring of 2017. Butterfly pupae raised at the Oregon Zoo would be introduced at Saddle Mountain State Natural Area and Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge in southern Tillamook County. Both sites have high numbers of nectar and violet plants, which are crucial to the butterfly’s survival.
Source: Statesman Journal, December 22, 2016
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2016/12/22/silverspot-butter…