Oregon Zoo Releases Rare Oregon Silverspot Butterfly

Portland Family | August 27, 2012 | 0 Comments

Zoo releases more than 1,000 endangered butterflies into wild. Photographer’s time-lapse sheds light on rarely seen transformation

PORTLAND, Ore. –– The Oregon Zoo’s butterfly conservation lab successfully released the last of this season’s 1,183 zoo-reared Oregon silverspot butterfly pupae this week. A dozen pupae (butterfly cocoons) were transported to coastal headlands to complete their transformation and join their wild counterparts.

Once common along the Oregon coast, the Oregon silverspot was reduced to four Oregon populations by the 1990s. The species was listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1980 — one of two Oregon butterflies listed as threatened or endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

“They struggle against development, invasive species, vehicles, bad weather, pesticides and natural predators like spiders,” lead keeper Mary Jo Andersen said. “Simply put, the zoo is putting more butterflies into the ecosystem in hopes that they’ll breed with wild butterflies and avoid local extinction.”

Since the project commenced in 1999, the Oregon Zoo, in collaboration with Woodland Park Zoo, has released more than 10,000 Oregon silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies into Pacific Northwest habitats.

Before the last batch of pupae were sent to their new beachfront home, Oregon Zoo photographer Michael Durham captured what is believed to be the first-ever time-lapse video of a critical moment in the silverspot’s transformation.

Pupation — when a caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis — occurs deep in the undergrowth and is almost never observed. Durham attempted to capture the pupation of a silverspot butterfly in 2011, but didn’t know when or how fast it would happen. He programmed a camera to snap a photo every two minutes. As it turned out, the period of transformation lasted only three minutes, leaving him with only two pictures.

“Two pictures doesn’t even register in time-lapse,” Durham said. “It’s just a blip.”

This time, he had the camera shoot every five seconds.

“What he captured was nothing short of magical,” Andersen said. “When a caterpillar pupates, all of its molecules literally liquefy, and it reformulates as a butterfly. Sometimes you need to have a meltdown in order to change your life.”

To watch this three-minute film, visit http://bit.ly/PCHoC1.

In addition to releasing pupae, the Oregon Zoo raises and plants thousands of early violets, on which the Oregon silverspot depends, into butterfly habitat. Each caterpillar, which hatches the size of a grain of sand, will eat more than 300 nickel-sized violet leaves before it’s ready to pupate.

Andersen said people can help conserve butterflies in their own neighborhoods by planting native plants and eliminating the use of pesticides.

“Butterflies are the supermodels of the invertebrate world,” Andersen said. “They’re also a ‘gateway’ invertebrate. People who love butterflies will often find they’re into other insects.”

The zoo works in partnership with Woodland Park Zoo, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Mission Creek Corrections Center for Women and the Xerces Society to develop husbandry protocols, rear butterflies and release them into the wild.

Oregon silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot captive-rearing efforts at the zoo are projects of the NW Zoo & Aquarium Alliance, which promotes collaboration on regional conservation efforts among zoos and aquariums in the Pacific Northwest.

The zoo is a service of Metro and is dedicated to its mission of inspiring the community to create a better future for wildlife. Committed to conservation, the zoo is currently working to save endangered California condors, Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits, Oregon silverspot and Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies, western pond turtles and Oregon spotted frogs. Other projects include studies on Asian elephants, polar bears, orangutans and giant pandas. The zoo relies in part on community support through donations to the Oregon Zoo Foundation to undertake these and many other animal welfare, education and sustainability programs.

The zoo opens at 9 a.m. daily and is located five minutes from downtown Portland, just off Highway 26. The zoo is also accessible by MAX light rail line. Visitors who travel to the zoo via MAX receive $1.50 off zoo admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit www.trimet.org for fare and route information.

General zoo admission is $10.50 (ages 12-64), $9 for seniors (65 and up), $7.50 for children (ages 3-11) and free for those 2 and younger; 25 cents of the admission price helps fund regional conservation projects through the zoo’s Future for Wildlife program. A parking fee of $4 per car is also required. Additional information is available at www.oregonzoo.org or by calling 503-226-1561.