** Karner Blue, Lycaeides melissa samuelis ( endangered )

The high nectar yield of the genus makes it very attractive to insects such as butterflies – including the endangered Karner Blue ( Lycaeides melissa samuelis ) which visits introduced Spotted Knapweed – and day-flying moths – typically Zygaenidae, such as Zygaena loti or the Six-spot Burnet ( Z. filipendulae ).

The Albany Pine Bush is home to hundreds of species of Lepidoptera ( moths ), including over 40 Noctuidae considered to be pine barrens specialists, but the most well-known species in the area is the Karner Blue ( Lycaeides melissa samuelis ), a butterfly on the Endangered Species List.

* Rhapsody In Blue The Karner blue butterfly makes a comeback

* The Return of The Karner Blue in Ohio

* Karner Blue for New York State Butterfly An effort to have the Karner blue declared the official NY state butterfly and how it will help prevent extinction of the species

Pine barrens support a number of rare species, including lepidoptera such as the Karner Blue butterfly ( Lycaeides melissa samuelis ) and the barrens buck moth ( Hemileuca maia ), and plants such as the Sand-plain Gerardia ( Agalinis acuta ).

The Karner blue, Lycaeides melissa samuelis, is an endangered species of small, blue butterfly which is found in significant numbers within the Miller Beach community of the Indiana Dunes National Park.

The Karner blue is the official state butterfly of New Hampshire.

The Karner blue butterfly occurs in isolated populations in Miller Beach, Indiana, eastern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and New York.

The Karner blue butterfly appears extirpated from Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, and Ontario.

Several studies have found a positive relationship between measures of wild lupine and Karner blue butterfly abundance.

In west-central Wisconsin, Karner blue butterfly abundance was negatively associated with the abundance of reproductive lupine and positively related with the frequency of immature wild lupine.

However, a feeding trial found that Karner blue butterfly fed 1st year wild lupine had one of the lowest survival rates observed and significantly longer larval durations than larvae fed older wild lupine that did not flower, was flowering, had recently flowered, or was grown in shade and was in seed.

Many other factors may influence the quality of wild lupine ( Lupinus perennis ) as a Karner blue butterfly food resource.

At Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, wild lupine with Karner blue butterfly feeding damage had significantly larger leaves and longer and thicker stems than plants without feeding damage.

In 1995 in west-central Wisconsin, significantly more Karner blue butterfly larvae were observed in oak-pine barren plots where mildew infection was delayed compared to areas where wild lupine were infected earlier.

Karner blue butterfly fed water-stressed wild lupine had significantly longer larval durations than many treatments including larvae fed flowering wild lupine, shade-grown wild lupine in seed, or mildew-infected wild lupine.

Although Karner blue butterflies have been shown to benefit from their association with ants, wild lupine with Karner blue butterfly larvae in the Allegan State Game Area in Michigan were not detectably closer to ant hills than wild lupine without caterpillars.

Adult Karner blue butterfly females are more likely to use shaded habitats than males.

The size of wild lupine has been positively associated with Karner blue butterfly larval length and amount of feeding damage.

However the implications of mildew infection on Karner blue butterfly are uncertain ( see section " Wild lupine ").

This trade-off between lupine quality and quantity is another reason heterogeneous habitat is important for Karner blue butterfly.

Nectar availability is likely to influence Karner blue butterfly abundance.

In Michigan, more Karner blue butterflies were observed on sites with more nectaring plants, especially butterfly milkweed ( Asclepias tuberosa ).

In west-central Wisconsin, the amount of Karner blue butterfly larval feeding damage increased with grass cover.

In the same area, the abundance of the Karner blue butterfly spring brood was positively related to trails, and the percent of lupine stems with larval feeding damage was significantly ( p < 0. 05 ) greater in areas disturbed by military vehicle traffic.

A laboratory investigation of temperature on Karner blue butterfly found that flight typically begins at 76 ° F ( 24. 6 ° C ) for females and 80 ° F ( 26. 4 ° C ) for males ( p = 0. 25 ).

Temperature also influences Karner blue butterfly phenology and brood success.

The name originates from Karner, New York ( located half-way between Albany and Schenectady ) in the Albany Pine Bush ), where it was first discovered.

The Karner blue was first identified and named by novelist and lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov.

The first Karner blue butterfly flight generally occurs sometime between mid-May and mid-June, with males typically appearing earlier than females.

However, the first flight of Karner blue butterflies can be larger than the second.

Two wasps, one from the Trichogrammatidae family and another tentatively identified as a member of the Eulophidae family, are suspected to parasitize Karner blue butterfly eggs.

Although results may have been biased by a significant ( p = 0. 009 ) positive correlation ( r = 0. 2173 ) between patch area and number of disturbances ( such as burning, vehicle traffic, and thinning and clearing ), patches in a right-of-way in west-central Wisconsin occupied by Karner blue butterflies had a greater frequency of disturbance than unoccupied patches ( p ≤ 0. 0125 ).

Karner blue butterflies are directly affected by temperature.

A review suggests that the cover provided by snowpack protects Karner blue butterfly eggs from hatching prematurely or being overheated by direct sunlight.

In the Allegan State Game Area, wild lupine patches occupied by Karner blue butterflies had higher density of edge habitats that unoccupied wild lupine patches.

At the Allegan State Game Area, wild lupine patches occupied by Karner blue butterflies were larger than unoccupied patches.

Distance between the various types of habitat required by Karner blue butterflies is likely an influential landscape attribute.

Wild lupine patches in the same area that were occupied by Karner blue butterflies were also surrounded by a relatively low percentage of unoccupied patches.

In addition, wild lupine patches in the Allegan State Game Area that were occupied by Karner blue butterflies were closer to other occupied patches than wild lupine patches without Karner blue butterflies.

Eggs laid by Karner blue butterflies in late summer overwinter and hatch in mid-to late April.

Karner blue butterflies do not typically move vary far, with males usually moving further than females, with most studies showing average distances moved by individual butterflies of well under.

Incidental predation of Karner blue butterfly eggs, larvae, and pupae by white-tailed deer grazing on wild lupine can be substantial.

The species of ant is likely to influence the degree of benefit gained by Karner blue butterfly larvae.

In a study of the effect of different experimental feeding treatments, Karner blue butterfly larvae tended by ants had one of the shortest observed larval durations and gained the most weight for the amount of lupine eaten.

Given the wide range of nectar species used by Karner blue butterfly ( see section " Food habits "), planting several often used or preferred nectar species is favored over selecting 1 or 2 specific species.