Rare Butterfly seen in High Park
This summer a rare butterfly species was seen briefly in High Park and caught on video by a Crystal Byrne, a regular park visitor and active steward of the black oak savannah. She was walking through the ornamental garden south of the park office (the former caretaker’s house) on July 5th when she caught sight of “this stunning black and white butterfly” flying around and landing on flowers. She quickly grabbed her cellphone and started recording it.
- View Crystal’s video at the CBC news website, along with part of an interview on CBC radio’s Metro Morning show.
- Full interview, with additional commentary by Bob Yukich.
- Related CBC news item.
The last High Park record of this more southerly species was in 1896, at a time when a number of individuals were seen in the Toronto area. (The most recent Toronto record was in 1952.) The butterfly’s host plant, pawpaw, is not known to occur in High Park but may be found on private properties, since there has been renewed interest in planting this tree in recent years.
The zebra swallowtail is more closely related to certain neotropical swallowtails than to our resident species such as the eastern tiger swallowtail. It was more common in southwestern Ontario in the early 1900s. Development and loss of habitat, including cutting down of pawpaw, led to a decline in the species.
But could things be turning around? Zebra swallowtails have been recorded breeding on Pelee Island this year, the southernmost place in Canada. And just a bit further south, Pittsburg recorded a similar incursion last year (see After 87 years zebra swallowtail butterflies return to Pittsburgh thanks to pawpaws).
Butterfly list updated
Bob Yukich has updated the Annotated List of Butterflies of High Park. The total number of species observed since the 1980s has jumped from 74 to 76, with the addition of Zebra Swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) and the recent recognition of Midsummer Tiger Swallowtail (Pterourus solstitius) as a distinct species.
More about Butterflies of High Park
