Here is a little informercial Denman Conservancy Association has put together with support from Wildlife Preservation Canada about how to identify the Endangered Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) and its habitat on Denman Island.
We respectfully acknowledge that Denman Conservancy’s work takes place on the unceded traditional territories of the Pentlatch, K’ómoks, Qualicum, Tla’amin and many other coastal First Nations whose connections and relationships to these lands continue to this day.
If you’d like to help identify Taylor’s Checkerspots and participate in their recovery on Denman Island in the Salish Sea, please contact:
Erika Bland | Land Manager, Denman Conservancy Association
dcalandmanager[at]gmail[dot]com
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Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly (Euphydryas editha taylori) is an endangered species in British Columbia, Canada. Denman Conservancy Association and Wildlife Preservation Canada want to help ensure the future of the Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly, and continue a lively culture of butterfly conservation on Denman Island and elsewhere in the Salish Sea region where its remaining populations exist.
Taylor’s Checkerspot (TCB) is a small, orange, black and white checkered butterfly that was formerly common on BC’s south-coast. It was once found from Vancouver Island as far south as California but today is only known to live and breed in two locations in British Columbia, and a few locations in Washington and Oregon. On Denman Island it’s seen in the spring in open meadows and shallow wetlands.
Like many butterflies, TCB lives for for most of the year (10 months) as caterpillars, who eat wild speedwell and plantain species. The butterflies emerge in May and early June, mate and lay eggs, which hatch into larvae (caterpillars), who eat and grow a little bit before hibernating from about August to February. The larvae then wake up, continue eating and growing, shed several exoskeletons, and then pupate around April.
Taylor’s Checkerspots are one of the species associated with Garry Oak Ecosystems. Garry Oak meadows were created and managed through traditional cultivation methods used by First Nations. Since early colonial times, many Garry Oak species have declined dramatically. After TCB was officially recorded on Denman Island in 2005, following its presumed extirpation from Canada, the Garry Oak Ecosystems Recovery Team (GOERT) and the BC Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy began working on recovery of this endangered species, guided by the proposed provincial strategy.
Denman Conservancy Association is part of the Regional Implementation Group (RIG) that was established to guide this work, and manages a 3.64 hectare Butterfly Reserve at our Settlement Lands Conservation Area. Read about Recovery Initiatives for Taylor’s Checkerspot HERE.
Wildlife Preservation Canada is also part of the RIG and has managed a butterfly rearing program for the species since 2013. The rearing program was initiated by Peter Karsten and dedicated volunteers on Denman Island, and later moved to the Greater Vancouver Zoo.
Learn how to identify TCB using this handy ID guide provided by GOERT.
Get in touch with Erika Bland, Land Manager for Denman Conservancy, if you think you might have Taylor’s Checkerspot habitat where you live, or want to learn more about or get involved in their recovery on Denman Island. Email: dcalandmanager[at]gmail[dot]com.
