Ohio police have arrested 36-year-old Jamie Revis for allegedly stealing a rare butterfly from the city's Krohn Conservatory on April 15, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
According to court documents, police used information from Instagram to identify the suspect. Police say surveillance cameras at the conservatory captured the theft. Footage released by local news channel WLWT shows a woman dressed in an orange top leave the Butterfly Exhibit through a side door after a staff member unsuccessfully tries to stop her.
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO:
Someone stole a rare butterfly from Cincinnati’s Krohn Conservatory, police say https://t.co/A1Immc8fNa pic.twitter.com/wlXjcHFPpV
Additionally, the arrest came just days after Cincinatti police released a wanted posted with Revis’s photo.
Revis is accused of stealing a blue morpho butterfly, which, according to the Rainforest Alliance, has bright blue wings with black marks. It is also one of the largest butterflies in the world, with a wingspan of five to eight inches. The butterfly lives in Central and South American tropical forests, and they tend to live for only 115 days.
University of Cincinnati biology professors Stephen Matter and Patrick Guerra told WCPO that the butterfly is like already dead, since it has a biological need for a much warmer climate than Cincinnati has been experiencing.
Per ABC22Now, Revis was arraigned on Saturday morning. She pleaded not guilty.
