Karner Blue Butterfly

 Its always a treat when you get to photograph something that is rare. Most of the time this is something that is out of place, like the Inca dove that was in Two Harbors, MN a couple of years ago. If you go to Texas though Inca doves are pretty common. The most rare nature subjects to photograph are plants or creatures that are on the Endangered Species List. You do not make the ES list unless you are rare pretty much every where in the US. There are 9 species of butterflies on the North American Endangered Species List. One of the 9 is the Karner Blue. The Karner blue is a subspecies of the Melissa blue that is found around the Great Lakes. Unlike the rest of the Melissa blues the Karner blue larva, caterpillar  only eats the lupine plant. This plant has been decreasing in the wild because of human encroachment and fire suppression. As there is less lupine there is less food for the developing Karner blue larva and so their population has declined. I am fortunate that one of the largest remaining populations of Karner blue lives at the Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. So a couple of times a year I make the 3 hour drive each way so that I can photograph a butterfly that many people may never get to see in their life time.