PRESENTATION OUTLINE
CLASSIFICATION
- Domain- Eukarya
- Kingdom- Animalia
- Phylum- Arthropoda
- Class- Insecta
- Order- Lepidoptera
CLASSIFICATION CONT.
- Family- Lycaeides
- Species- Samuelis
SCIENTIFIC NAME
- Lycaeides melissa samuelis
Biome:
Karner Blue Butterflies live in sandy pine barrens, lakeshore dunes, and sandy pine prairies that contain abundant lupine, their main food source.
Ecosystem:
They live in oak savannas and pine barren ecosystems. These ran from from eastern Minnesota and to the Atlantic coast. They can also be found throughout New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana, and Minnesota.
Habitat:
Karner blue caterpillars feed only on the leaves of the wild lupine plant. Adults feed on the nectar of flowering plants. This limits the available places they can live. Their habitats must consist of the lupine plants in order for them to survive.
The Karner blue butterfly is the state butterfly of New Hampshire, but there are only a few left in the state. Today, the Karner blue butterfly is only found in the pine barrens near the Concord airport. There are approximately only four of them left.
Biotic Factors that Contribute to the Extinction:
Karner blue butterflies' habitat has been lost as a result of land development. Also, humans killed them because their beauty maked them amazing additions to butterfly collections.
Prevention:
Wisconsin Habitat Conservation Plan - Wisconsin has implemented a statewide Habitat Conservation Plan that permits human activities in areas that support Karners but ensures that the activities are conducted in ways that conserve and protect the species and its habitat.
Prevention Cont.:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prepared a recovery plan that describes and states actions needed to conserve and restore this species. This plan is currently in action.This plan insures that Karner Butterflies can not be legally killed. Also, their habitat can not be destroyed.
Human actions are the main cause for the extinction of the Karner Blue Butterflies. Humans destroyed the habitats of the butterflies to build buildings. Also, humans would kill the butterflies to add to butterfly collections because of their appearances. In reality the harm has already been done and there is nothing humans can do to reverse the extinction. There are plans in action now that do not allow humans to interfere with the living situation of the butterflies. These plans insure that the tiny population left will not die of human cause.
Impacts of Extinction:
There are many organisms that get their energy by feeding off the Karner Butterflies. For example, beetles, wasps, soldier bugs, deer, spiders, and dragonflies.All of the organisms above can possibly have a plummet in population due to the loss of food source. The organisms that are tertiary consumers may also have a loss of food source.Also, the lupine plant will increase in population, because the Karner is the main predator of the plants.
