Scientists Trying To Revive Endangered Butterflies in Elgin

ELGIN, Ill. (AP) — Scientists who tried to reintroduce a rare butterfly into a swampy Elgin forest preserve two years ago say they can’t find any colonies of the butterfly.

Scientists say the endangered swamp metalmark butterfly has been extinct in Illinois since the 1980s. That’s why biology curator Doug Taron of Chicago’s Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum put a team together in 2013 to release about 80 lab-born swamp metalmarks into Bluff Springs Fen. The hope was that the butterflies would create a colony.

But Taron tells The (Elgin) Courier-News they can’t find evidence of a colony. Taron says that can be because of several reasons.

His crew isn’t giving up yet though. Scientists say they will raise another group of metalmark adult butterflies in their lab and release them later this summer.

ReCENT POSTS

Loading...