White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) is now blooming in Little Bennett Regional Park, Montgomery County, Maryland. This plant is the primary food source for caterpillars of the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas phaeton), the official state insect of Maryland. Loss and deterioration of the turtlehead’s wetland habitat have greatly reduced the populations of both the plant and the butterfly. White Turtlehead is being reintroduced (with fencing to protect it from deer browse) to appropriate wetlands in parks in Maryland, in the hope that new butterfly colonies will become established. After the turtlehead planting at Little Bennett, Baltimore Checkerspots were released to try to restore the lost population. This site now hosts the only known colony of the butterfly in Montgomery County (and one of only nine in the state). (Photos by Keith Sanderson)
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 10:06:47 +0000
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