The Karner Blue is a butterfly that is small and that is a subspecies of a small blue butterfly that was once a big part of the Miller Beach. This butterfly is found in North America and Canada.
What Does the Karner Blue Look Like?
The Karner Blue is a small butterfly around 1 inch long and it is one species of butterfly where the male and female are very different looking.
The male Karner Blue is silver or blue in color and has a small black border on its wings. The female Karner Blue is a brown or grey color on the edges of the wings and has a blue top. The female also has orange moon shapes inside of the small black border.
Both the male and female Karner Blue have grey coloring with orange moon shapes on the edges of both wings and has scattered spots that are circle with white in the middle of them.
Where Does the Karner Blue Live?
The Karner Blue is found in different areas in North America and is found in Miller Beach, Indiana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and New York. They have also been seen close to the Missouri River, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Maine, Iowa, Illinois and in Ontario, Canada.
The Karner Blue lives in a habitat that is close to roads, in areas that have high traffic and in many cities.
What Does the Karner Blue Eat?
The Karner Blue drinks form a variety of plants including the wild lily of the valley starflower, the yellow loosestrife, the blackberry sorrel and other grasses.
Many studies have been made of the caterpillar of the Karner Blue and what it eats. Some believe that it eats a lot of wild lupine which is a food source because it has large leaves and thick stems. Some Karner Blue’s are associated with ants who like the fluid that the Karner Blue gives off when eating lupine.
The Karner Blue needs a lot of nectar to live and they will find places where there is nectar flowers. The butterflies seem to especially like finding nectar in open spaces and some like the sun while others only like to survive in the shade.
What Does the Karner Blue Need?
The Karner Blue is one of the butterflies that need a mosaic of sun and shade in order to survive. Since they need a lot of nectar, it means that they need the temperatures to be higher for longer and these temperatures make their activity higher than other areas.
Finding a Mate
The male Karner Blue searches for a mate in an open area. The female Karner Blue likes to stay in the shade so that they do not have to share their lupine with the male butterfly. Some of the Karner Blue butterflies have died and have seen to be weak because they are spending too much time in the shade and not in the sun.
Temperature
The Karner Blue is affected by the temperature and scientists found that they will usually fly when it is between 76 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. When the temperatures get much higher than that, it can cause the butterfly to overheat and die.
More Facts About the Karner Blue:
- The Karner Blue likes to be in areas where ethere is shade so that they do not get overheated.
- The size of the habitat of the Karner Blue is different depending on where the feeding takes place and what the temperature is.
- The Karner Blue does not travel far and are usually found where there is a lot of landscaping and low patches of grasses.
- The Karner Blue is most active in the late summer and the mid to late April.
- It takes 60 days for the egg of the Karner Blue to hatch and for them to turn into a butterfly.
What Did You Learn?
What is the Karner Blue?
The Karner Blue is a butterfly that is found mostly in North America and is a very famous butterfly because it has a lot to do with Miller Park.
What does the Karner Blue eat?
The Karner Blue is known to eat lupine and other flowering plants.
What is interesting about the Karner Blue?
The Karner Blue is one of the only butterfly species that are affected by the temperature. When the temperature gets too high, many of the Karner Blue butterflies can get sick or die.
Does temperature affect the feeding of the Karner Blue?
Yes. Temperature is a big part of rather the Karner Blue will feed or not.
What temperature is good for the Karner Blue?
The Karner Blue likes to be in temperatures around 76 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
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