ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Researchers are on the move to save a butterfly that’s on the brink of extinction. Scientists here in Albuquerque are currently raising what may be the last known caterpillar of this species.
Just northeast of Alamogordo, the Sacramento Mountains were once home to what many considered a distinctly beautiful butterfly, only found in New Mexico, known as the Checkerspot Butterfly.
“It’s a very special butterfly,” explained Species Survival Specialist for the New Mexico BioPark Society, Quin Baine. “People used to see it a lot. It was recognized for how beautiful it was. It’s bright, orange, white, and black. And over time, people started noticing that it was less and less common.”
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The Checkerspot thrives in high-altitude meadows solely in the Sacramento and Capitan mountains, relying on one food source also endemic to New Mexico. Baine says that the butterfly specifically feeds on the New Mexico Penstemon flower. But, over the last century, habitat loss, overgrazing, and even global warming have made that flower scarce, having a direct impact on the Checkerspot…