FWC and partners reintroduce frosted elfin caterpillars in north Florida

FWC and partners reintroduce frosted elfin caterpillars in north Florida

Caterpillars of the rare frosted elfin butterfly were released earlier this month as part of an experimental program to reintroduce the species across north Florida. The reintroduction of this small butterfly within Ichetucknee Springs State Park comes after three years of organization and preparation by staff from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Tall Timbers, the Florida Museum of Natural History and the Florida Park Service.

The frosted elfin is currently under consideration for federal listing under the Endangered Species Act and is one of Florida’s wildlife Species of Greatest Conservation Need. This handsome butterfly is now rare or has disappeared from most of its historic range in the eastern U.S. and southern Canada. Florida has the largest remaining populations in the Southeast.

Using wild-caught elfins from the Florida Panhandle, a captive breeding program was established at the Florida Museum of Natural History to produce individuals to release into good — but elfinless — habitat in north Florida. Sites chosen include fire-managed sandhill with large patches of the butterfly’s host plant, sundial lupine.

During the release, the captive-raised frosted elfin caterpillars were placed directly onto sundial lupine plants to continue feeding. The reintroductions were done with caterpillars that were nearly mature enough to crawl down the plant and choose a site in the leaf litter to begin pupation. The team is also testing whether the use of protective enclosures around the plants improves the success of the elfin reintroduction. Team members will be monitoring the reintroduction area during the next year’s flight period, from February to April, to see if adult frosted elfins emerge.

This project is partially funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. To learn more about the frosted elfin visit the FWC’s species profile by going to MyFWC.com/WildlifeHabitats, clicking on “species profiles” under “Learn More about Florida Wildlife” and select “Invertebrates” under “Filter by category” to find the frosted elfin page.

Featured Photo: FWC staff transported frosted elfin caterpillars from the lab at the Florida Museum of Natural History to the reintroduction site at Ichetucknee Springs State Park. These caterpillars were introduced on sundial lupine, their host plant, both in enclosures and in the open. Such as, mesh enclosures covered patches of sundial lupines in bloom at the reintroduction sight.