In 2022, researchers found just nine Poweshiek skipperlings in the US; three years later, more than 1,300 were released, and hundreds are now being seen at recovery sites

The Poweshiek skipperling, a small prairie butterfly once widespread across the American Midwest and parts of Canada, came dangerously close to disappearing from the United States. After populations began collapsing in the early 2000s, the species was reduced to just a handful of known wild individuals. By 2022, surveys found only 9 Poweshiek skipperlings in the entire United States. At one point during the recovery effort, conservationists were caring for more individuals in captivity than remained in the wild anywhere in the world. Researchers at Michigan State University, working with John Ball Zoo, Minnesota Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, developed a captive-rearing and release programme aimed at preventing the species from disappearing. The team released 102 butterflies in 2022 and more than 1,300 in 2025. By 2026, researchers were reporting hundreds at recovery sites in southeast Michigan, providing a striking sign of progress for a species that only a few years earlier had just 9 known wild individuals in the United States.How researchers went from 102 butterflies released in 2022 to more than 1,300 in 2025According to Michigan State University, David Pavlik, a research assistant at MSU's W.K. Kellogg Biological Station and John Ball Zoo, has helped lead the recovery effort. The programme released 102 Poweshiek skipperlings in 2022 and more than 1,300 in 2025. The initial goal was to keep the species from disappearing entirely from the United States. Researchers raised butterflies in captivity and released them at suitable recovery sites, gradually shifting the focus from simply preventing extinction toward rebuilding populations in the wild. The effort brings together MSU researchers and conservation organisations including John Ball Zoo, Minnesota Zoo, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.Why Michigan became one of the last places where Poweshiek skipperlings surviveMichigan has become a critical stronghold for the Poweshiek skipperling because several populations survived in the state's remaining prairie fen habitats. The butterfly has disappeared from most of its former U.S. range and now survives at only a small number of locations in southeast Michigan, along with a remaining population in Manitoba, Canada. Bill Flanagan, conservation manager at John Ball Zoo, has described Michigan as an important stronghold for the species and a key location for conservation work. The decline of the Poweshiek skipperling is closely associated with the loss of the habitat it depends on. According to MSU, less than 1% of the prairie habitat that once existed remains today. Habitat loss, wetland destruction, changes in agricultural practices and pesticide exposure have all contributed to the pressures facing the species and the wider prairie ecosystem.Why raising the butterfly in captivity is so difficultThe recovery programme is challenging partly because the Poweshiek skipperling spends most of its life as a caterpillar and has a very short adult stage. Adults emerge for only around two weeks each summer, leaving researchers with a narrow period in which the butterflies can reproduce and be monitored. Researchers raise the insects in specialised facilities designed to reproduce under conditions similar to those found in their natural habitat. The butterflies are then released at selected sites where conservationists can monitor their survival and dispersal.That short adult period also makes timing critical. Missing the breeding window can mean waiting until the following year for another opportunity, adding considerable time to an already slow recovery process. Nick Haddad, a professor in MSU's College of Natural Science, has described species such as the Poweshiek skipperling as canaries in a coal mine because their decline can signal broader problems affecting the ecosystems in which they live.What the recovery means for other endangered Michigan butterfliesThe techniques developed through the Poweshiek skipperling recovery programme are now being applied to other endangered butterflies. Researchers at MSU and the Great Lakes Rare Butterfly Program at John Ball Zoo have expanded their work to include Mitchell's satyr and Karner blue butterflies. Individuals of both species were released into their native habitats as part of broader conservation efforts, extending a strategy that combines captive rearing with habitat restoration and reintroduction. For the Poweshiek skipperling, the change since 2022 is significant. Only 9 individuals were found in the United States that year, while researchers have since released more than 1,300 captive-reared butterflies in a single year and are now reporting hundreds at recovery sites. The species remains highly endangered, and the recent releases do not mean it has returned to its former range. But the change demonstrates that intensive conservation can give a species with an extremely small wild population a chance to rebuild. The same prairie habitats that support the Poweshiek skipperling also support other plants and animals, meaning restoration aimed at one of the Midwest's rarest butterflies can benefit a much broader community of species.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.