by Xitlali Herrera

The 2025 Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly post-diapause release is complete! With the help of the Mission Creek butterfly technicians, SPP staff, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and many volunteers, we were able to take advantage of the beautiful weather last week to successfully release about 4,500 larvae across three sites over three days in South Puget prairies.

As part of the release, WDFW set up a total of 30 temporary enclosures that will allow them to estimate percent survival to adulthood. While at the release site(s), we were elated to find wild Taylor’s checkerspot larvae! This shows us that these larvae are not only surviving, but reproducing in the wild just as we had hoped. The Mission Creek Taylor’s checkerspot program has retained 511 larvae that will be bred this spring to continue the cycle of Taylor’s checkerspot rearing and conservation.