An ecosystem consists of a community of organisms together with their physical environment. The Karner blue butterflies lay eggs on the plant wild lupine. It is highly dependent on the wild lupine plant for its survival. After hatching, the caterpillars feed on the wild lupine for about six weeks, pupate and emerge as butterflies which also feed on the nectar of the flowers of wild lupine.
Thus, Karner blue butterflies can be studied the organism level of ecology in understanding its adaptations that enables them to live in the specific habitat and also under population ecology due to its dependence on the wild lupine plant as a population, influencing its distribution and number.
