11/23/2008

Associated Press

The threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly is getting some habitat improvements along the coast.

The Oregon Coast Aquarium teamed up with the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service earlier this month to plant more nectar-producing food sources for butterfly habitat.

The Oregon silverspot butterfly has been listed as a threatened species since 1980 and requires a very specific coastal habitat and certain plants to survive.

When the butterfly's eggs hatch into caterpillars, they eat the only the leaves of their host plant, the early blue violet, which has been in decline.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Zoo and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle are working together on a silverspot butterfly captive rearing program to introduce more of the insects into the wild.

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Information from: The Daily Astorian, http://www.dailyastorian.com