A rare butterfly species — the zebra swallowtail — has been spotted in Toronto’s High Park for the first time in over a century.
The rare butterfly was spotted by Crystal Byrne, a butterfly enthusiast, when she was visiting High Park to catch a glimpse of the different species that appear at this time of the year.
“This stunning black and white butterfly came out. And I was like, that’s a zebra swallowtail,” said Byrne. “Never did I think that I was going to see one there.”
The species was last spotted back in 1896, Bob Yukich, a member of the Toronto Entomologists’ Association told CBC Radio’s Metro Morning Wednesday.
‘Like a little gift’
Byrne, who spent days maintaining the black oak savannah — an endangered ecosystem in High Park — felt “very lucky” to be the one to spot the rare zebra swallowtail.
“I feel like I spent a lot of time in that park … it felt like a little gift that that land gave back,” Byrne said.
Around 74 butterfly species have been found in High Park since the 1980s, according to the High Park Nature Centre.
Byrne said it was a “beacon of hope” to see the rare butterfly because its host plant, Pawpaw, is not common in the area.
Other species like the cabbage white butterflies that were surrounding the zebra swallowtail were very territorial, Byrne said.
“Every time the swallowtail would land, it would get chased off by cabbage white,” Byrne said.
Habitat loss a cause for decline in butterfly species
Habitat loss accompanied by widespread use of insecticides has negatively impacted the butterfly population, according to the Toronto Entomologists’ Association.
Monarch butterflies are another species that have hit an “alarmingly low” population in North America and require international cooperation between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, Ryan Norris, a University of Guelph professor told CBC News earlier this month.
The zebra swallowtail was common in southwestern Ontario, around Windsor in the early 1900s.
With development and cutting down woods in the area, the Pawpaw started to disappear, which led to a decline in the species, Yukich said.
“They’re fascinating butterflies. It’s just something you just don’t see anymore,” Yukich said.
Ontario’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act classifies the zebra swallowtail as a “specially protected” species. It is illegal to harm, capture, transport or kill the butterfly, according to a City of Toronto report.
Yukich says it is special to see a species like the zebra swallowtail after hearing about their habitat loss for decades.
“Butterflies are declining and when you get something like that, it’s returning and not disappearing. It’s fascinating,” Yukich said.
