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<h1><b>As butterflies struggle, Oregon Zoo lends a
hand</b></h1>
<a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/07/as_butterflies_struggle_oregon.html" eudora="autourl">
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/07/as_butterflies_struggle_oregon.html<br>
<br>
<br>
</a><h5><b>Published: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 1:57
PM Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2010, 2:23
PM</b></h5> <b>Katy Muldoon, The Oregonian <br>
</b>
<img src="http://media.oregonlive.com/environment_impact/photo/silverspotjpg-baf1783d99b21718_large.jpg" width=432 height=281 alt="Silverspot.jpg">
</b> <br>
OREGON ZOOOregon silverspot butterfly <br>
<br><br>
<b>Oregon silverspot butterflies</b>, a threatened species whose numbers
have dramatically declined, are getting a boost this summer from the
<b>Oregon Zoo</b>, which is releasing thousands of captive-reared larvae
into prime coastal habitat. <br><br>
The zoo released 128 larvae Thursday at Rock Creek in Tillamook County.
Releases will occur almost weekly through September; altogether, about
2,000 zoo-raised larvae will be deposited in the wild.<br><br>
Oregon silverspots (Speyeria zerene hippolyta) are elegant orange and
brown butterflies with metallic silver spots on their undersides. They
inhabit a few swaths of grassland along the Northwest coast. <br><br>
The Oregon Zoo partners with state and federal wildlife agencies, the
<b>Nature Conservancy</b>, the <b>Xerces Society for Invertebrate
Conservation</b>, <b>Lewis & Clark College</b> and Seattle's
<b>Woodland Park Zoo</b> to grow the silverspot population and protect
the butterflies' fragile habitat. <br><br>
Each year, females are collected from Mount Hebo, brought to Portland and
induced to lay eggs at the Oregon Zoo's butterfly conservation facility.
They hatch into larvae, or tiny caterpillars, then hibernate in
refrigerators through winter. <br><br>
In spring and summer, the zoo fattens them up on the larval food of
choice, early blue violets (<b>Viola adunca</b>), before releasing them
to the wild. <br><br>
The zoo's horticulture department raises thousands of the violets,
including some that are planted at release sites. <br><br>
"The last three years we really got the husbandry down and managed
to eliminate mortality at every step in the process," said David
Shepherdson, deputy conservation division manager. <br><br>
Oregon silverspots have lost ground, according to the Portland-based
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, because of development,
recreation uses such as off-roading and cultural shifts that increasingly
call for wildfire suppression; without wildfires, forests have replaced
the open-meadow habitat the butterflies require. <br><br>
Butterfly populations are in trouble across North America; 23 species are
listed as threatened or endangered under the <b>Endangered Species
Act</b>. <br><br>
That's a problem says Mary Jo Andersen, Oregon Zoo butterfly
conservationist, because butterflies are pollinators. "Their
survival," she said, "protects entire ecosystems."
<br><br>
<b>– Katy Muldoon <br><br>
</b> <br>
<br><br>
© 2010 OregonLive.com. All rights reserved.<br><br>
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<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
*************************<br>
Scott Hoffman Black<br>
Ecologist/Entomologist<br>
Executive Director<br>
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation<br>
4828 SE Hawthorne <br>
Portland, OR 97215 <br>
Direct line (503) 449-3792<br>
sblack@xerces.org<br><br>
<i>The Xerces Society is an international, nonprofit organization that
protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their
habitat. <br>
</i> <br>
To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our work, <br>
please visit
<a href="http://www.xerces.org/">www.xerces.org</a>.<br><br>
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