Karawanken Mohrenfalter

Karawanken Mohrenfalter
	Karawanken butterfly butterfly ( Erebia calcaria )
Systematics
Class :	Insects (Insecta)
Order :	Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Superfamily :	Papilionoidea
Family :	Noble butterfly (Nymphalidae)
Genre :	Erebia
Type :	Karawanken Mohrenfalter
Scientific name
	Erebia calcaria
	( Lorković , 1953)

The Karawanken Mohrenfalter ( Erebia calcaria ), also known as Lorkovićs Mohrenfalter , Slovenian Lorkovićev rjavček , is a butterfly species ( endemic ) from the family of noble butterflies (Nymphalidae) that only occurs in the southeastern Alps .

Characteristics and biology

The Karawanken Mohrenfalter is a brown to red-brown colored butterfly with a few small white dots bordered with black. It is predominantly gray on the underside.

It is morphologically close to the three Mohrenfalter species of the tyndarus group Erebia tyndarus , Erebia nivalis and Erebia cassioides that occur in the Alps . However, since the Karawanken Mohrenfalter forms an isolated occurrence without overlapping with the occurrence areas of the other three alpine Erebia species, confusion can be ruled out.

The roundish, about 1.0 to 1.2 millimeters in size, slightly green to slightly gray, with 15 to 19 longitudinal ribs, are formed at the base of the grasses (mainly fescue grass species ( Festuca sp.), Regionally also blue grasses ( Sesleria ) and bristle grass ( Nardus stricta )).

The common ragwort ( Senecio obrotanifolius ) is the main food plant of the Karawanken moth

The brown patterned caterpillars develop into the third larval stage before wintering. They are then about 10 mm long. Without ingestion of food and hidden at the base of their forage grass, they spend the winter in order to continue their development with the first warm days: 4th and 5th stages and finally pupation . The pupae rest for about three weeks and take place either just below the surface of the ground or under the grass litter. The caterpillars are between 19 ( ♂ ) and 22 ( ♀ ) millimeters long. The length of the pupae is between 12 and 13 millimeters, with the female pupae being slightly wider than the male.

The moth flies in July and August and feeds on the nectar of white, yellow and pink flowers. The main food plant is the yellow-flowering common ragwort ( Senecio obrotanifolius ).

Habitat and occurrence

The Karawanken Mohrenfalter occurs exclusively in the north of Slovenia , in the northeast of Italy and in the Austrian Karawanken ( Carinthia ). It lives on patchy grassy to stony habitats at altitudes between 1400 and 2200 meters.

The size of the population in Slovenia is given as 100,000 to 500,000 individuals (as of 2012). Austria lists 900 to 1,200 individuals (as of 2012), which are distributed over 35 occurrence areas. Italy names 12 occurrence areas without specifying a number of individuals (status: 2006, 2012 no information).

Hazard and protection

The Karawanken Mohrenfalter is classified as harmless (LC) in the European Red List. Due to data deficits, Austria has not carried out a risk classification, but states in the Red List that although the occurrences in Austria do not appear to be directly threatened, a more detailed clarification of the habitat claims is necessary, as due to the small overall distribution area of the species in Austria there is an increased responsibility for the Preservation of the Karawanken moth.

In Slovenia, the main habitat of the species, a study on the distribution of the Karawanken moth was carried out in 2009. A key result was the patchy and limited availability of potentially suitable locations for the species in the range. The fact that the distribution of this species is even smaller than the potential distribution makes this butterfly one of the rarest and potentially most endangered in Europe.

The existing populations are threatened by habitat loss. The reasons for this are anthropogenic disturbances, especially grazing with large herbivores such as cows and horses , the construction of ski areas, wood succession and climate change .

The Karawanken Butterfly was included in Appendix II of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive due to the threat to which it and its habitats are exposed . The EU member states are obliged to designate protected areas for the species that are part of a coherent European network of ecological protected areas ( Natura 2000 ). This network must ensure the continued existence or the restoration of a favorable conservation status of the habitats of the species in their natural range.

The Karawanken Mohrenfalter is also listed in Appendix IV of the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive. The EU states have to establish a strict protection system for these species, which includes all deliberate forms of capture or killing, every deliberate disturbance, every deliberate destruction or removal of eggs from the wild and every deliberate and unintentional damage or destruction of reproduction - or prohibits resting places (Article 12 of Directive 92/43 / EEC).

Web links

Commons : Karawanken-Mohrenfalter ( Erebia calcaria ) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f László Rákosy, David Jutzeler: Biology, ecology and distribution of the Karawanken moth Erebia calcaria (Lorkovic, 1949) in Carinthia. In: Carinthia II. 195./115. Year, Klagenfurt 2005, pp. 675–690 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
^ Emilio Balletto, Simona Bonelli, Luigi A. Cassulo: Mapping the Italian Butterfly Diversity for Conservation. In: Elisabeth Kühn, R. Feldmann, Josef Settele, Jeremy A. Thomas (Eds.): Studies on the Ecology and Conservation of Butterflies in Europe. Vol. 1: General Concepts and Case Studies. 2005, pp. 71-76 (PDF).
↑ ^a ^b ^c European Environment Agency (2014): Species assessments at EU biogeographical level. Retrieved July 13, 2014
↑ Van Swaay, C. et al. (2010): European Red List of Butterflies. 60 pp.
↑ Höttinger, H. & Pennerstorfer, J. (2005): Red List of diurnal Austria. In: Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (Ed.): Red Lists Endangered Animals Austria. Volume 14/1, p. 326-354
↑ ^a ^b Martin De Groot, Franc Rebeusek, Vesna Grobelnik, Marijan Govedič, Ali Šalamun, Rudi Verovnik: Distribution modeling as an approach to the conservation of a threatened alpine endemic butterfly (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). In: European Journal of Entomology. Volume 106, 2009, pp. 77-84.
↑ ^a ^b Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (Council Directive 92/43 / EEC of May 21, 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild animals and plants in the consolidated version of January 1, 2007 (PDF) )

[RAKOSY_JUTZELER_2005-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f László Rákosy, David Jutzeler: Biology, ecology and distribution of the Karawanken moth Erebia calcaria (Lorkovic, 1949) in Carinthia. In: Carinthia II. 195./115. Year, Klagenfurt 2005, pp. 675–690 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).

[BALLETTO_ET_AL._2005-2] Emilio Balletto, Simona Bonelli, Luigi A. Cassulo: Mapping the Italian Butterfly Diversity for Conservation. In: Elisabeth Kühn, R. Feldmann, Josef Settele, Jeremy A. Thomas (Eds.): Studies on the Ecology and Conservation of Butterflies in Europe. Vol. 1: General Concepts and Case Studies. 2005, pp. 71-76 (PDF).

[EIONET_2006_2012-3] European Environment Agency (2014): Species assessments at EU biogeographical level. Retrieved July 13, 2014

[RL_EU_2010-4] Van Swaay, C. et al. (2010): European Red List of Butterflies. 60 pp.

[RL_AT_2005-5] Höttinger, H. & Pennerstorfer, J. (2005): Red List of diurnal Austria. In: Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management (Ed.): Red Lists Endangered Animals Austria. Volume 14/1, p. 326-354

[DE_GROOT_ET_AL_2009-6] Martin De Groot, Franc Rebeusek, Vesna Grobelnik, Marijan Govedič, Ali Šalamun, Rudi Verovnik: Distribution modeling as an approach to the conservation of a threatened alpine endemic butterfly (Lepidoptera: Satyridae). In: European Journal of Entomology. Volume 106, 2009, pp. 77-84.

[FFH-RL_2007-7] Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (Council Directive 92/43 / EEC of May 21, 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild animals and plants in the consolidated version of January 1, 2007 (PDF) )