Photos from the release of Baltimore Checkerspots at Meadowlark Gardens, June 11, 2006

The Baltimore Checkerspot, Maryland's State Butterfly, has seen its numbers diminish in Maryland in recent years through loss of habitat (it prefers damp meadows) and because growing herds of deer enjoy browsing on its favorite host plant, the native turtlehead (Chelone glabra).

Under the direction of Keith P. Tomlinson, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Virginia became active in butterfly restoration as part of its Potomac Valley Collection of native plants. The philosophy behind the garden was to reintroduce native species of plants common to the Potomac watershed. A deer fence was also built around the perimeter of the Gardens. The number of butterflies seen in the Gardens has grown from around 20 in 2000 to 46 species in 2005.

Three years ago the Gardens began planting large numbers of native turtlehead; several hundred of these vital host plants have been established in three different regions of the 95-acre property.

Formal permission was granted in 2005 to bring Baltimore checkerspot larvae across state lines for raising, and the first caterpillars were delivered to Mona Miller, a butterfly grower and a member of the Washington Area Butterfly Club and the Association for Butterflies, in April 2006. In June, the first adult butterflies were released at Meadowlark; it is hoped that eventually, a self-sustaining colony may be established in this manufactured habitat.

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