Flitting With Disaster HUMANS AND HABITAT ARE KEYS TO OUR STATE ’S FUTURE

Who was thinking about habitat when Gov. Mike Beebe signed House Bill 1005 Feb. 28? The became the state butterfl y that day, which is all well and good, but Dianas – like elk, turkeys, bass and bears – need habitat. William Baltosser knows a A wild bergamot plant gets a visit little about butterfl y habitat. from a male Diana Fritillary. He’s a professor in the University of Arkansas at ARTICLE AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY WILLIAM BALTOSSER, PH.D. Little Rock biology depart- ment who’s studying the y interest in butterfl ies began many years population, habitat and genet- ago while I was making a collection for ics of the Diana fritillary and a zoology course. When I fi nished the the great spangled fritillary, class, I spent two weeks in Mexico collecting numerous two large, colorful butter- M fl ies. His work is part of and tropical , some of which were quite impressive. partially funded through the I became more fascinated when resemble one another) and found Arkansas Wildlife Action Plan. I was hired to backpack the Gila in the mountains not far from my Each state has developed such Wilderness of southwestern New hometown. Mexico for a summer, to search for Although I chose to study birds in a plan – known as comprehen- peregrine falcons and to inventory graduate school, I maintained a strong sive wildlife conservation strat- butterfl y species. I was about to enter interest in butterfl ies, especially those egies – to address the status of graduate school and was seriously of the Speyeria . They are ecolog- considering studying the Nokomis ically and evolutionarily interesting, wildlife and habitat. fritillary. This butterfl y is rare, sexually and they have become politically dimorphic (males and females do not important because of their shrinking

6 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2007 A female Diana fritillary, with wings folded, Flitting With Disaster feeds on field thistle, a plant critical to the butterfly’s survival.

population. Mountains in the eastern U.S. and This current investigation of the the other lives in the Ouachita and MALE Diana fritillary, which in many Ozark mountains of Arkansas and respects is an eastern counterpart to extreme eastern Oklahoma. This is an the Nokomis fritillary, will tell us more interesting aspect of the study because about its distribution, abundance, of the genetics of the two groups. genetics and habitats in Arkansas. My colleague, John M. Bush, and I I visited places where the Diana histor- are studying the genetics of various ically occurred, searched for new areas samples from throughout Arkansas. where they occur and tagged butter- Dianas and great spangles range fl ies in other areas. across western Arkansas, although The results will help resolve the the range of the Diana is a little more FEMALE status of the species in the state, aid confi ned. conservation efforts and provide guidance for the management of the A male (orange) and a female (blue) Diana Diana. fritillary – note the white tags attached by

researchers to the bottom of the wings. Two Worlds The Diana fritillary is split into two Their wingspans can reach more than geographically defi ned populations. 4 inches. One lives among the Appalachian

SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2007 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE 7 One Habitat shown to be beneficial to maintain- means predictability from year-to- Diana fritillaries generally live ing fritillary habitat. Based on my year and seasonally. An array of plants among open woodlands that, in some ongoing study, it appears to be the capable of providing nectar from late areas, are interspersed with prairies. most consistent means of produc- May through mid-October is critical. The woodlands that make good ing and maintaining optimal habitat. Interestingly, patches of high-quality habitat have a common trait: Brush Mechanical and chemical approaches nectar supplies such as field thistle cover is periodically reduced. Land can produce open areas, although they do not have to be large to support management practices that cut the do not appear to be as beneficial to the Dianas, as long as the plants are inter- encroachment of brush, while spurring Diana fritillary because they destroy spersed throughout the habitat. There the germination of plants that produce the roots of high-quality nectar plants. is evidence that extensive patches of nectar, are essential. Of course, habitat must be high-quality nectar supplies, if too The periodic use of fire has been maintained to be effective, which distant from wooded components,

A stand of horsemint has attracted a female Diana fritillary.

8 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2007 may be avoided or never found by detrimental, actually may prove to be plants favored by the Diana are: Dianas, although this does not appear beneficial. ■ purple coneflower to be the case for the great spangled For example, during the 2006 field ■ fritillary. season, a thriving Diana fritillary buttonbush population that was under study was ■ butterfly weed The Human Factor dealt a major setback. Within a period ■ horsemint Fritillaries are touched by a complex of just a few months, an area that ■ wild bergamot blend of human effects. Urbanization, supported good numbers of Dianas roads, power lines and gas lines change was subdivided into 3-acre lots for ■ frostweed habitat. an upscale housing development. ■ field thistle Some activities clearly have negative Much of this habitat is gone and what These and other species are impor- effects but others, presumed to be remains is too limited to support tant but field thistle is undoubtedly the Dianas. fritillaries’ bread and butter through- In contrast and perhaps somewhat out late summer and early fall. It’s also surprisingly, Dianas often forage on a common target for eradication. power-line and gas-line corridors, as long as these openings are not Life Story too wide and are managed properly. Speyeria butterflies live in four Roadside corridors also have potential stages: egg, caterpillar/larva, chrysa- for habitat if they are not excessively lis/pupa, and adult. Violets are the mowed and if only host plants, mowing occurs although unlike during an appro- many species of priate season. butterflies, the Picky eggs of fritillaries Eaters are not necessarily laid on the host Preliminary plant. data suggest that Eggs most the Diana is often are laid on much more selec- pine straw on tive than the great the ground. In spangled when it this study, less comes to feeding than 3 percent of on nectar. The eggs were laid on great spangled violets. Eggs hatch uses almost 50 in September and Diana fritillary in the pupal stage, early October as species of plants, attached to a branch. more than twice the caterpillar eats as many as the through the egg Diana. The great spangled uses some casing. Caterpillars about a millimeter long species more than others, but the ones enter a stage of arrested development frequented most often are the same as soon after hatching and spend winter those used by the Diana. in this state. When they begin to grow The abundance of nectar-produc- again, usually during mid-March, ing plants species varies from year-to- caterpillars consume large quantities year, seasonally and within a season of violets and develop rapidly through from one geographic area to another. a series of molts, triggered when the Among the seasonal progression of skin becomes taut.

SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2007 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE 9 Diana fritillaries generally live among open woodlands that, in some areas, are interspersed with prairies.

10 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2007 A male great spangled fritillary (upper left), a male Diana fritillary and a coral hairstreak butterfly (lower left) feed together.

At the end of the caterpillar state, died Nov. 10. The first eggs were laid absent. they usually crawl to a branch and Oct. 6; the last Nov. 4. She laid 843 Our initial findings indicate that the attach themselves in a “J” posture, eggs in captivity, 733 hatched and 60 Diana and the great spangled differ by head down. A day or two later, the were used to establish a winter colony. 4 to 4.5 percent. Both differ from the skin falls away and reveals the chrysa- Hatching time ranged from 15 to 20 regal by about 6.5 percent. Two other lis, the last step before adulthood. days, 52 of the 60 caterpillars formed species of fritillary not in the Speyeria a chrysalis and 40 of the 52 became genus were included as “outgroups” Plenty of Potential adults. to help put the three Speyeria into A female fritillary can lay as many context. as 2,000 eggs. Despite the potential, Close Relatives Wing patterns also are being most eggs do not survive to become The genetic variation among butter- examined for differences to see if varia- adults. Given the high mortality rate, flies from different places is an impor- tion correlates to genetic differences. If relatively few females were removed tant part of the ongoing study. Before it does, there may be a tangible means during the study. The collection of we looked at the various populations, to recognize and characterize various females for propagation was timed so John Bush and I wanted to deter- populations. Since Dianas are local- most eggs would have been deposited mine how closely the Diana fritillary ized, anything that helps assess gene in the field. resembled the great spangled fritillary. flow is worth study. Such informa- Learning about stages of life before We also wanted to put these species in tion also can greatly assist conserva- adulthood gives important insight. context with the , which tion efforts to ensure that the species For example, a great spangled was historically occurred in Arkansas (at remains viable. AW removed from the wild Oct. 4 and she least sporadically) but appears to be

SEPTEMBER • OCTOBER 2007 ARKANSAS WILDLIFE 11