I have posted pictures before of Karner Blue Butterflies that inhabit my oak savanna project but here goes again! lol.
These little postage stamped sized butterflies are Federally endangered , have a very limited range currently with Wisconsin hosting the largest population that still exists. When the Feds listed the Karners as endangered, mid 90's (Dec. 1992) , Wisconsin's DNR stepped up and made rules for allowing incidental take permits for ROW's, commercial building projects etc. The DNR also set up a citizen science monitoring project that helps keep track of the Karner populations up and downs. While I do not agree with a lot of decisions that Wi DNR makes, they worked this one out well with the cooperation of US Fish and Wildlife, Partners for Wildlife , public lands and private landowners such as myself. Due to this cooperation, habitat work has been performed at a high level and rate which benefits All wildlife. Pollinators, deer and turkey populations have all benefited.
The picture of the Karner with the darker upper wings with orange spots is the female of the species, while the picture of the Karner with the more lighter blue upper wings with no orange spots is the male. These butterflies do not migrate, have two flights a season and rely on Wild Lupine as the only known host plant for the larva. The fact they do not migrate and have a very limited range is one of the reasons that they are endangered along with loss of suitable habitat and lack of wild lupine.