Let’s Go Count Butterflies!

Do you enjoy the great outdoors? Do you like looking at things and/or counting them? Then the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources wants to hear from you!

They’re looking for volunteers to document the population of the endangered Karner blue butterfly in select counties beginning in July. The DNR has been partnering with the public in collecting data about the butterfly population since 2018, documenting its population, distribution, and other trends in support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Karner Blue Recovery Plan.

While the Karner blue butterfly’s population may be in decline, Wisconsin has the largest remaining population anywhere thanks to our state’s native wild lupine, which is their only food source when the butterflies are in their caterpillar era.

It’s hard to blame them. As we all know, Wisconsin’s native wild lupine is simply delicious. But the butterflies are also found in Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, and New York. So, needless to say, it’s important that we maintain our hammerlock as the number one home for Karner blue butterflies, so get out there. Count early and count often.

The DNR isn’t just going to send you into the field without providing some guidance. There is online training as well as an optional field day. You can learn more about counting Karners at the program’s website.

There’s no information about tailgating while counting butterflies on the page, but there’s nothing about not doing either. If the Karner blue butterfly is that fond of Wisconsin, they will surely approve.