Second Brood of Karner Blue Butterflies are here!

The second brood of Karner blue butterflies has been observed at Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park.  While the purple lupine flowers have long gone to seed, the beautiful orange flowers of the butterfly milkweed are in bloom. The bright blue of the Karners feeding on the vibrant flowers is a favorite subject for photographers.

There are several trails in the Preserve & Park where you can observe the flowers and the small blue butterflies. The most accessible are at Camp Saratoga where the trail leaves from parking lot #1 on Scout Road.  The other trails are Old Gick Farm and Fox which are accessed from parking areas off of Route 50, just north of King Road. 

The next few weeks will be ideal for seeing many of the newly emerged butterflies as they search for nectar and mates in the open pine/oak savannah that is their habitat in the Saratoga Sandplains. 

The first brood of the endangered Karner blue butterflies spend the winter as an egg, hatch into their larval stage to feed on the wild blue lupine, and emerge from their chrysalises in late May/early June. This first brood of adult butterflies mated and laid eggs that then immediately hatched, and went through their life cycle to form the second brood. We are seeing the adults emerging now and into the first weeks of July.  These adults will mate and lay eggs that will overwinter and form the first brood next spring.

For more information please contact the Park Office at 518-450-0321 or email info@wiltonpreserve.org.  For up to date program trail and program information, visit the website at www.wiltonpreserve.org.  The Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park is a non-profit organization that conserves ecological systems and natural settings while providing opportunities for environmental education and outdoor recreation.