Summertime is a great time to spy butterflies in your backyard or in meadows across Virginia. Unfortunately, most of these insects are in decline across the U.S. and Virginia, according to Anne Chazal, chief biologist with the Natural Heritage Program, through the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Mitchell’s satyr butterfly is the only butterfly in Virginia that’s federally listed as endangered, and scientists are working to preserve the few meadows where these elusive butterflies still exist.
A swampy meadow, with plenty of native grass and wildflowers, is what Mitchell’s satyr butterflies love best, says Derek Hennen, a field zoologist with Natural Heritage Program. The past few weeks, he’s been surveying for them on the edge of a highway in Floyd County, the only county in Virginia where they’re known to exist.
“People just drive on by. Not even realizing they are about 20 feet from one of North America’s rarest butterflies,” Hennen says.
He holds a walking stick in front on him, gently nudging the grass, searching for a tan and orange butterfly, about the size of a quarter.
“You’re looking for a dainty little butterfly. They’ve got these nice little eye spots on their hind wings that look kind of like jewels or a little bit like liquidy eyes with tear drops in them,” Hennen says. “They’re very pretty.”
Mitchell’s satyr once lived throughout the country. Today, they only remain in a few states, including Michigan, Mississippi and North Carolina. They also exist here along the Blue Ridge in Floyd County.
Because these butterflies are endangered, we aren’t disclosing the exact location of this meadow. Poaching may have caused their numbers to shrink, along with habitat loss.
Hennen doesn’t capture the butterflies; he counts them, to see how their numbers are holding up. Surveying is only possible during a small window in the middle of summer, because these butterflies are only active for three weeks.
“Yeah, it’s not very surprising that it flew under the radar for so long. Even with a lot of people who are interested in butterflies,” Hennen says. “If you’re not there in that exact correct window, you’re never gonna see it otherwise.”
Hennen meanders through rushes and tall grasses, clomping through mud. Pink swamp rose, milkweed, and blue vervain surround him, and there’s an occasional scent of mountain mint.
Other native butterflies fly by, including a couple monarchs. The Mitchell’s satyr are more tricky to spot. They don’t fly well and usually dart beneath the grass as soon as we see one.
“So see how it just has this bobbing flight? When there’s a wind gust it kind of goes up and they freak out a little bit,” Hennen says. “That’s very telltale for these butterflies.”
Every now and then, Hennen identifies one of the satyrs. “Not seeing as many as I’d hoped,” Hennen says.
He suspects there’s a reason there are fewer butterflies than in years past—the habitat here is changing.
“There’s some alders coming up. And the alders are the most aggressive thing that we’re fighting against,” Hennen says.
A few alders are helpful for the butterflies because they keep the moisture in the wetland, but when the trees grow too big, it pushes out the grasses they need to eat. It’s a delicate balance that’s always in flux. These butterflies actually prefer a slightly disturbed wetland— an area where there aren’t too many trees. In the past, occasional grazing by horses on this site helped maintain the right balance. Before European settlers, natural fires also preserved this type of habitat.
“When we reduce a lot of these fires, then we’ve really just removed a lot of that natural rhythm of opening up habitats,” Hennen says. “And for these butterflies, they can’t handle that. They just die off if that happens at a site.”
Trimming back the alder trees could help, says Hennen, and that may be what’s needed on this site to keep the butterflies alive.
After several hours, he tallies up the numbers: 32 Mitchell’s satyr butterflies. Scientists counted 400 on this site 20 years ago.
Despite the decline, the population seems to be holding fairly steady, and Hennen says he’s optimistic about the butterfly’s survival. But it will take a little help, making sure the few remaining meadows where they live can be preserved.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
