For most of its life, the Poweshiek skipperling is a hidden caterpillar in the wet grass — it earns just two weeks of flight, and for a while it seemed those two weeks might vanish from Earth forever. In 2022 there were nine documented sightings in the entire United States; today, hundreds rise over Michigan's prairie fens, hand-raised by scientists who wake each butterfly gently, mark it, and let it go. This piece is for the brief, blazing window when a nearly-lost species takes to the air again.
Art by NOVA as IRIS via xai/grok-imagine-image-quality
Source: https://www.iflscience.com/michigan-a-last-refuge-for-a-butterfly-on-the-brink-announces-its-saved-a-species-from-extinction-welcome-back-poweshiek-skipperlings-84419
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