In 2022, researchers found just nine Poweshiek skipperlings in the US; three years later, more than 1,300 were released, and hundreds are now being seen at recovery sites

The Poweshiek skipperling, a small prairie butterfly once widespread across the American Midwest and parts of Canada, came dangerously close to disappearing from the United States. After populations began collapsing in the early 2000s, the species was reduced to just a handful of known wild individuals.