Aphrodite Fritillaries Released in Glacial Park

The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum's butterfly restoration project continued this past year with the introduction of Aphrodite fritillary caterpillars to Glacial Park in McHenry County. Aphrodite fritillaries (CW, Summer 2003) are beautiful orange butterflies about the size of a monarch. In the Chicago Wilderness area, they are found in larger prairie remnants.

Aphrodite fritillary caterpillars feed on violets, especially prairie violets. In September, scientists took female Aphrodites from the Nachusa Grassland in Lee County and placed them in special egg-laying cases along with violet leaves. They collected more than 100 eggs, 66 of which hatched. Then they placed the new caterpillars on prairie violet leaves at Glacial Park.

If all goes well, the caterpillars will hibernate this winter, complete their metamorphosis next summer, and become a viable population of this locally rare species.

— Doug Taron