Reintroduction of Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) to a Restored Prairie

摘要

The tallgrass prairie is one of the most fragmented ecosystems in North America. In Iowa only 0.1 percent of the original tallgrass prairie remains because of extensive land conversion to agricultural practices (Smith 1998). A consequence of this loss is the imperiled existence of prairie-associated organisms, such as butterflies (Pullin 1996, Schlicht and Orwig 1998). In Iowa, Schlicht and Orwig (1998) classified nine prairie endemic butterflies as endangered (existing on fewer than 20 sites) and 11 more as threatened (existing on 21 to 100 sites).