Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN
Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN
Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN
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<strong>Conservation</strong> biology <strong>of</strong> <strong>Lycaenidae</strong>: A European overview<br />
Miguel L. MUNGUIRA 1 , José MARTIN 1 and Emilio BALLETTO 2<br />
1 Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain<br />
2 Dipartimento di Biologia Animate, Università di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 17, 10123 Torino, Italy<br />
<strong>Biology</strong> <strong>of</strong> European <strong>Lycaenidae</strong><br />
The biology <strong>of</strong> European lycaenids is generally well known as<br />
a result <strong>of</strong> both general and specific studies. A review <strong>of</strong> central<br />
European species was made by Malicky (1969a) who dealt with<br />
larval foodplants, phenology and overwintering stages.<br />
Relationships with ants were also reviewed by Malicky (1969b)<br />
and Fiedler (1990a, 1991). Books on regional faunas including<br />
detailed ecological information on a species-by-species basis<br />
are available for Italy (Verity 1943), the Netherlands (Tax<br />
1989), British Isles (Ford 1970; Emmet and Heath 1989) and<br />
Switzerland (SBN 1987). Specific autecological studies cover<br />
a wide range <strong>of</strong> species from almost every major group within<br />
the European fauna. Some <strong>of</strong> these studies are listed in Table 1,<br />
together with the geographic areas in which they were<br />
undertaken. Several studies in press or short notices have not<br />
been listed and a wider range <strong>of</strong> species is covered by these.<br />
Thus the information available covers roughly 50% <strong>of</strong> the<br />
European lycaenids. The Table clearly shows wider coverage<br />
<strong>of</strong> northern species and <strong>of</strong> the countries where the present<br />
authors are based (Italy and Spain), but nevertheless it gives a<br />
general idea <strong>of</strong> our knowledge <strong>of</strong> European lycaenids.<br />
While most <strong>of</strong> the northern species are well known as far as<br />
their biology is concerned, information on most Mediterranean<br />
species is not available, even on such basic topics as foodplants<br />
or habitat preferences. Greece, with its 12 endemic species, is<br />
the area where basic studies are most urgently needed. High<br />
altitude species are also under-represented in ecological studies<br />
due to the difficulties <strong>of</strong> reaching their habitats for long-term<br />
studies, but their conservation seems to pose fewer problems<br />
than that <strong>of</strong> lowland species.<br />
Synecological studies are generally less abundant and only<br />
refer to some geographic areas such as southern France (Cléu<br />
1950; Bigot 1952, 1956; Dufay 1961, 1965–66), Hungary<br />
(Uherkovic 1972,1975,1976), Czechoslovakia (Kralichek and<br />
Povolny 1978), Italy (Balletto et al. 1977, 1982a–e, 1985,<br />
1988, 1989), Switzerland (Erhardt 1985) and Germany<br />
(Kratochwil 1989a, 1989b, 1989c), or to some particular<br />
ecosystems (Fouassin 1961; Janmoulle 1965; Cléu 1957;<br />
Mikkola and Spitzer 1983; see also Ehrlich 1984).<br />
23<br />
Larval foodplants<br />
Most <strong>of</strong> the European lycaenids are polyommatines (Kudrna<br />
1986). The data on lycaenid larval foodplants in Table 2 clearly<br />
illustrate the fact that polyommatines have radiated in our area<br />
more than the other groups, using wider niches and evolving to<br />
produce a wider range <strong>of</strong> endemic species and peculiar ecotypes.<br />
Life cycles<br />
The most common strategy adopted by the European lycaenids<br />
to endure adverse seasons is larval quiescence. Most<br />
polyommatines hide away and spend the winter season (in<br />
northern Europe) or the summer and winter (in the Mediterranean<br />
areas) as second or third instar larvae. When the egg or pupa is<br />
the overwintering stage, a diapause normally takes place (e.g.<br />
Iolana iolas (Ochsenheimer), Tomares ballus (F): Munguira<br />
1989, Jordano et al. 1990). Theclines typically overwinter as<br />
eggs, lycaenines and polyommatines as larvae. In the last case,<br />
however, there is considerable variation, again supporting the<br />
idea <strong>of</strong> a wider radiation <strong>of</strong> the group in our area. Table 3<br />
summarises the data on overwintering stages for Spanish<br />
lycaenids (a sample covering 70% <strong>of</strong> European species).<br />
There is one generation per year for most species. This<br />
seems to be a clear adaptation to temperate climates which have<br />
a favourable summer and a cold winter in which insect life<br />
comes through a dormant period. All the theclines follow this<br />
pattern, but again the polyommatines show some variation,<br />
having species with two generations (e.g. Polyommatus [or<br />
Lysandra] bellargus (Rottemburg), Lycaeides idas (L.)) or as<br />
many generations as weather allows (e.g. Tarucus theophrastus<br />
(F.), Aricia cramera Eschscholtz, Polyommatus icarus<br />
(Rottemburg)). It is possible that species with two generations<br />
are not 'fixed' to this condition, but constrained by food<br />
availability or unfavourable weather conditions. Thus, many<br />
species with a low number <strong>of</strong> generations may increase the<br />
number when resource limits change. An example <strong>of</strong> this is<br />
Polyommatus icarus with one generation in northern Britain,<br />
two in southern Britain (Emmet and Heath 1989) and four to<br />
five in Spain (Martin 1982).