Saving the Mitchell’s Satyr, an Endangered Butterfly in Michigan

BENTON TOWNSHIP, Michigan – The slow, rocking flight of the Mitchell’s satyr is so rare that most people never see it in their lifetime.

For about ten short days in early summer, the endangered butterfly takes to the sky, albeit at a fairly low altitude, and flutters gently above its spring-fed wetland habitat, a marsh.

They are found in fewer than 20 places on Earth (and about eight in Michigan), and the swampy acres of the Sarett Nature Center near Benton Harbor are one of the few remaining sites.

Sarett Nature Center

“The Mitchell satyr is the clue that something has gone wrong,” said Nate Fuller, director of the nonprofit nature center. “If we can crack the code to understand what it takes to support Mitchell satyr, maybe we can heal these places.”

The butterfly has been a part of Fuller’s life since “before the turn of the century.” He has seen it disappear from several wetlands as the delicate balance of life could no longer sustain the satyr’s fragile life cycle.

Whether due to habitat loss, invasive species disrupting groundwater flow, or bacterial infections, their numbers declined until they eventually became “extinct.”

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“I’m not that old yet, and it really horrifies me that I’m witnessing species extinction in my lifetime,” Fuller said.

At the Sarett Nature Center, the director and his team study the satyr annually during its flight period to find out where in the moor the butterflies live and what factors may contribute to their survival.

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“Why do you care about a little brown butterfly? What’s the point?” Fuller asked. “This is one of those parts of the world that has been here for thousands of years and is disappearing because of human action or human inaction. It’s within our power to change that.”

Fuller believes that the satyr can be saved through public and private cooperation and that his work and the work of others will not simply delay an inevitable extinction.

“A discouraged conservationist once called it a ‘butterfly hospice,'” Fuller said. “I’m much more optimistic. I think it’s entirely possible.”

Sarett Nature Center

Both the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids and the Toledo Zoo breed the butterfly in captivity, and the nature center’s research may help determine where best to release it back into the wild.

As an ecological canary in the coal mine, his success could have implications beyond his two little wings.

“If we understand the Mitchell satyr, we understand our groundwater. And we understand our water supply,” Fuller said. “Let’s figure it out before it’s too late.”

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