By Jeremy P. Meyer
The Denver Post
A quarter-sized butterfly with blue-and-purple wings and rarely seen along Colorado’s Front Range is a mystery to researchers who only know that it loves hops even more than the state’s legions of beer geeks.
Colorado Natural Heritage Program zoologists realized they could use that information to tap into the region’s obsession with all things craft beer-related to generate funding for more studies into the blue hops butterfly.
“It’s difficult to find a species or a habitat that appeals to a broader audience outside the conservation management community,” zoologist Robert Schorr said. “A butterfly that is rare and likes hops doesn’t present itself every day.”
The small butterfly, whose formal name is Celastrina humulus, lives along the Front Range between El Paso County and the Wyoming border. It emerges only in June and July.
The insect is rare enough that a 1994 inventory of flora and fauna at the U.S. Air Force Academy noted only two sightings. But Schorr saw a cluster of 12 during a recent survey on academy property, prompting him to wonder more about where they are, how rare are they, when they emerge and why they like hops so much.
Schorr presented his interest in the butterfly to Odell Brewing Co. in Fort Collins.
“All of us immediately were completely intrigued and compelled by the story,” Odell marketing manager Amanda Johnson-King said. “It is such a fun story. The big piece is that it is this little creature that lives on hops, and that is such a part of our industry.”