Photo | Courtesy of Long Point Basin Land Trust
A rare butterfly has taken flight again in Norfolk County. Yesterday (May 29), the endangered Mottled Duskywing was reintroduced to the Stead Family Scientific Reserve, a protected site managed by the Long Point Basin Land Trust.
This exciting event is part of a multi-year conservation project led by the Ontario Butterfly Species at Risk Recovery Team, with support from Environment and Climate Change Canada. The goal is to restore the Mottled Duskywing to parts of its former range, where it disappeared in the 1980s.
The butterfly, known for its mottled brown wings and fast, skipping flight, relies on oak savanna habitats and the New Jersey Tea plant. These environments are shrinking due to land development and changes in forest structure, making the species increasingly rare.
Thanks to years of habitat restoration by groups like Long Point Basin Land Trust, Nature Conservancy of Canada, and the St. Williams Conservation Reserve Community Council, the region was selected as one of the release sites in Ontario.
Researchers Klara Jones and Jessica Linton are overseeing the release and monitoring efforts. The Long Point Basin region is now one of only five places in Ontario where Mottled Duskywings can be found.
For more information, visit: https://longpointlandtrust.ca/mottled-duskywing/
Written by Jeremy Hall