& Boris Laus ^ Dinara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly. (Papilionoidea) diversity of the Dinaric Arc

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1 Nota lepid. 36 (2): Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly (Papilionoidea) diversity of the Daric Arc Toni Koren ^ Boris Laus ^ ' University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Biodiversity Studies, SI -6000, Koper, Garibaldijeva, Slovenia; koren.tonil@gmail.com 2 Association for Biological Research - BIOM, Biankijeva 2b, 0000 Zagreb, Croatia; boris.laus.pmf@gmail.com Received February 203; reviews rurned 20 March 203; accepted 5 June 203. Subject Editor: Zdenëk F. Fric. Abstract. The Dara Massif range is the highest mounta range Croatia, located the southeastern part of the country. Durg the last three years we conducted a butterfly survey on three mountas belongg to the Dara Massif: Dara, Kamesnica and Troglav. We recorded 94 butterfly species; for the first time exact localities were given for 46 of them, while two were entirely new records for the area. A comparison with five other mountas belongg to the Daric Arc was performed usg the Sorensen similarity dex, which revealed that Blidje (Cvrsnica Vran complex) Bosnia and Herzegova, and Mt. Velebit Croatia have the highest similarity with the Dara Massif Several rare species were recorded durg this survey, of which Polyommatus ripartii (Freyer, 830) represents the second record for Croatia. The known ranges for Pieris balcana (Lorkovic, 970), Polyommatus damon (Dennis Schiffermüller, 775), Polyommatus eros (Ochsenheimer, 808) and Polyommatus ripartii Croatia were much expanded. Introduction Butterflies are one of the best studied groups of sects most of Europe, especially terms of their biology, distribution (Kudma 20 ), ecology (Stele 2009) and conservation status (van Swaay 200). One of the commonly used tls to unite all the data one place are butterfly atlases, which are more the exception than the rule the Balkan region. Only a sgle butterfly atlas exists for the region, and it covers the butterflies of Slovenia (Verovnik 202). In Bosnia and Herzegova a bk coverg butterfly diversity exists (Lelo 2007a) but covers only their general distribution, without precise localities. The same goes for the field guide to the butterflies of Serbia (Popovic Duric 20 ). Aside from the 20-year old atlas that covers the entire territory of former Yugoslavia (Jaksic 988), Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia do not have any recent atlases. The above mentioned old atlas (Jaksic 988) gives no data for many areas, and many species were recorded only sporadically. In Croatia, three ma biogeographical regions exist: the Mediterranean, the mounta or Daric region and the contental region (State Institute for Nature Protection 20 ). One of the most terestg areas for the global species diversity is the Daric Arc. This is a south European mounta cha, spanng through Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegova, Montenegro, Serbia and Albania. It extends for 645 kilomers along the coast of the Adriatic Sea (northwest-southeast), from the Julian Alps the northwest, down to the Sar-Korab massif the south. The highest mounta of the Daric Alps, Maja Jezercë, is 2694 m high. It is located Mount Proklije, on the border bween Montenegro and northern Albania. The mounta range itself was Nota lepidopterologica, , ISSN

2 0 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc named after Mt. Dara, located at the border of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegova. The Darides conta a mosaic of Alpe, Contental and Mediterranean species and habitats ( Veen 2006). The geology of the Daric Arc mostly consists of carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite) with islands of clastic rocks and flysch rocks (Gottste-Matocec 2002). The Daric Arc is fluenced both by Mediterranean and the Contental climates ( Veen 2006). In fact, zones lies along the mounta cha. the border of those two Butterflies were sufficiently surveyed only on several mountas belongg to the Darides cha, cludg Ucka, Velebit and Biokovo Croatia, Blidje Bosnia and Herzegova and Durmitor Montenegro. The highest mounta Croatia, Dara, is still a mystery terms of biodiversity. Recently, an overview paper was published ( 202) which all the known records for the area were compiled, cludg literature records. Unfortunately, it lacks precise observation on localities and clear division of literature and recent records. Before that, no systematic surveys were ever carried out this area, and literature data for the whole Dara Massif are few (Koren 200b; Koren 200; Lorkovic 2009; Mladov 973; Mladov Lorkovic 985; 977; Stander 920/2; 20). A need for more systematic surveys is emphasised by the fact that for two butterflies, Colias caucasica Staudger, 87 and Erebia triaria (de Prunner, 798), the Dara Massif is the only known locality Croatia (Lorkovic 2009; 20). The aim of this paper is to present newly collected data on the biodiversity of three mountas the Dara mounta cha (Troglav, Dara and Kamesnica), to give an overview of all known butterflies of the region, to present remarks on some terestg species and to compare them to other well-surveyed mounta regions of the Darides. Materials and mhods Study area. The Dara Massif is characterised by a diverse landscape covered with miscellaneous habitats. All of the surveyed mountas share the same type of vegation structure. Dara, Troglav and Kamesnica are mostly covered with different types of grasslands (Fig. ). There are sub-mediterranean and epi-mediterranean dry grasslands that develop on shallow calcareous soil, and occasional meadows on richer brown soil. At higher altitudes are alpe and subalpe grasslands that grow above the tree le. In the past these grasslands were used as pastures or hay meadows, but today after abandonment of traditional outdr livestock farmg they are under severe succession. Dry grasslands are overgrown with scrubs and garrigue and eventually turn to sub-mediterranean, thermophilous forests and scrubs of Quercus pubescens Willd. (Fagaceae), while alpe and subalpe grasslands are exposed to succession with different scrubs or Mounta pe {Pus mugo Turra; Paceae). Beside these grasslands, the second most represented habitat types are forests. These are mostly thermophilous forests and scrubs of pubescent oak {Q. pubescens) different degradation stages, and at higher altitudes beech {Fagus sylvatica L.; Fagaceae) and pe {Pus sylvestris L. and Pus nigra Arnold; Paceae) forests are present (Dumbovic 2009).

3 Nota lepid. 36 (2): a b Fig.. a) Troglav, b) Kamesnica, Medugorje, c) Dara, Duler, d) Dara, Brezovac. Data collection. All data presented this paper are the result of a three-year study by the authors. Dara was visited May 200 and May 202; Kamesnica May 200, and July and August 202; Troglav July 20. These visits covered the whole season of butterfly activity. The visited area of Troglav is especially dangerous, because of many land mes left after the last war twenty years ago. Aside from that, the road leadg to the upper part of the mounta is accessible by an ordary vehicle. All these factors make researchg this area very dangerous. The survey was carried out on 26 different localities (Tab. ). Butterflies were caught with entomological ns, identified, and released on the spot. The samplg was mostly carried out usg a transect mhod, when possible. Time spent on each locality varied, but was at least half an hour per locality. In several cases identification was not possible the field, so the specimens were collected and the genitalia prepared by standard procedures. Exact crdates and altitudes were recorded usg a Garm GPS device, altitudes were double-checked Intern mappg tls (GgleEarth, GgleMaps). The taxonomy follows van Swaay (200). Data processg. Recorded butterfly diversity was compared to five other, moderately well-surveyed mountas of the Daric region. Three of them are located Croatia - Ucka (Rebel 90), Velebit ( 2007) and Biokovo ( 20 ), one

4 A 2 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc Tab.. List of surveyed locahties on Dara Massif, with UTM fields, crdates, altitudal range and habitat types. ^Crdates are s to GCS_Bessel_84 geographic crdate system. Habitat types: AG: alpe and subalpe grasslands, CS: cultivated surfaces, DG: dry grassland, FE: forest edge, HM: hay meadow, P: pasture, WB: water bodies. Mt. Dara Locality UTM Crdates^ Altitude range (m a.s.l.) Habitat L Guge WJ N F DG, FE, CS, WB 2. Curkove staje XJ N F DG, HM, P, FE 3. Matica Guvno XJ N F DG, HM, P, FE 4. Brezovac valley XJ N F 006 AG, HM, P, FE 5. Duler valley XJ N F AG, HM, P, FE 6. Smilja poljana XJ N E AG, FE 7. Mounta shelter Martove kosare XJ7 A A /\ A a A A "KT N 6.40 E 432 AG, FE 8. Kobilovaca XJ N E FE 9. Glavas XJ N E 566 AG,P Mt. Troglav 0. Jankovo Brdo XJ27 ^j.vzj AG IL Troglav Al. peak XJ26 Q/I7Q tvt ^j.y^ /y I IN 0. A jy <Q7O0 /uz Ct/ 6-90 AG 2. Katica Tore XJ N E AG, FE 3. Popovaca area XJ N E 20 AG, FE 4. Maglaj peak XJ N E AG,P 5. Mounta house Jakov Bitelic Mt. Kamesnica ID. Ovrlja sprg, at the base AJ N XJ N E 000 P F zou U(j, rn, WrJ, I /. Roze stlement V T/l AJ4J 'Î N E / /z y45 DU, rlm, r, rb 8. Korita village XJ N h DG, FE, WB 9. Ruda staje XJ N E 083 DG, FE, P 20. Medugorje XJ N E AG, FE, HM, P 2. Mounta shelter XJ N E AG, FE Sv. Mihovil 22. Arkacica stlement, XJ N E DG, HM, P, FE Mt. Kamesnica 23. Village Vostane XJ N E DG, HM, P, CS, FE 24. Cmo polje, Vostane XJ N E 765 DG, P, FE 25. Stlement Vrandolac, Donja Tijarica 26. Stlement Tarabnik, Donja Tijarica XJ N E 640 DG, FE, P XJ N E 625 DG, HM, FE Bosnia and Herzegova - Blidje (Kucic 2005), and one Montenegro - Durmitor ( 984) (Fig. 2). For the comparison of faunal similarity, we used the widely accepted Sorensen similarity dex (Sorensen 948). This similarity dex measures species composition bween two different sites, and takes to account the number of species shared by the two sites. The higher the value of the dex, the higher the similarity bween sites.

5 Nota lepid. 36 (2): Fig. 2. The best surveyed mountas the Daric region:. Mt. Ucka, 2. Mt. Velebit, 3. Mt. Dara, 4. Mt. Biokovo, 5. Blidje, 6. Durmitor. Results and Discussion Faunistic data A comparison of our data with the hterature is somewhat challengg, due to the lack of dail a recent overview done by (202). In that paper the authors pubhshed data from their own survey strchg from the village Guge (250 m a.s.l.) near Kn to the Sjal peak (83 m a.s.l.), but without any means of distguishg bween parts of the transects. Additionally, species from a historically surveyed locality near Kn (Hafner 994) were cluded. These data are conclusive due to the fact that the city itself is not part of the discussed area as it is located the karstic valley of Knsko Polje, with different geographical, geological, climatological and biodiversity characteristics. The ma problem is that Hafner (994) did not research the mounta itself, but only locations around the city. The best dication of this is the fact that not a sgle mounta species (e.g., genus Erebia) was listed that paper, even though the survey lasted for several years, and an impressive number of species was recorded. Therefore the ma problem is how to distguish the historical data comg from one small area around the city of Kn, and recent data that clude both the city area and

6 4 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc the Mt. Dara itself. In either case, without exact localities available, the number of 30 recorded species given by (202) for the whole Dara Massif should be taken with caution. Durg this survey we recorded 94 different butterfly species (Tab. 2). For 46 of those species we provide for the first time their exact localities on the three surveyed mountas. However, 43 of these species were previously mentioned by (202), and only three are mentioned for the first time: Pyrgus alveus (Hübner, 803), Polyommatus ripartii (Frey er, 830) and Hipparchia syriaca (Staudger, 87). Lkg at each mounta separately, we recorded 40 species on Dara, 55 species on Troglav, and 58 on Kamesnica. Of those species, two are for the first time recorded on Mt. Dara, 4 on Mt. Troglav and 30 on Mt. Kamesnica (Tab. 2). With our newly collected data, and the literature data, the number of butterfly species the Dara Massif reaches 28 (Tab. 2). Species listed by (202), which we have not recorded and were listed only for the Kn area, are excluded from the list. The results of the first study of the Dara Massif show that the butterfly diversity of this mounta is high and rank it among the richest regions Croatia ( 20 ). In Croatia, only Mt. Velebit has more recorded species ( 2007). The butterfly diversity the other regions of the country, like northern Croatia or Istria, is significantly lower than the mounta complexes. Mt. Velebit and the Dara Massif, for example, are fluenced by different climate classes and conta numerous habitats, which result the variy of butterfly species that occur there. The Sorensen similarity dex showed that the most similar areas to the Dara Massif are Velebit (82.26%), Durmitor (77.52%) and Blidje (74.89%) (Tab. 3). This could be expected due to the geographic position of Mt. Dara, which lies bween those three areas. Mts Ucka and Biokovo are more isolated from the ma Daric Arc, and thus have more different fauna. Of the six compared mounta regions, Velebit and Durmitor have the highest number of recorded species (Tab. 3), probably resultg from more surveys the past ( 2007; 984). Blidje (Mts Cvrsnica Vran complex) and Ucka, with less than 00 recorded species, are probably still sufficiently researched. The situation with Biokovo is probably somewhat different, as it lies outside the ma Daric cha, and is under a strong fluence of the Mediterranean climate, so the 02 recorded species probably represent almost all butterflies present the area. Although the Dara Massif Croatia with its 28 species is probably sufficiently researched, this number should not be considered as f With our visits we did manage to cover the whole season of butterfly activity, but not all the different altitudes and habitats. Our estimate is that one could probably expect at least 5-0% more species for the whole Massif, and a larger number of species for both Mt. Troglav and Mt. Kamesnica. Interestg records Some of the 94 recorded species require special attention. Both Pyrgus sidae (Esper, 784) and Pyrgus serratulae (Rambur, 839) are considered to be rare and local Croatia, with only occasional records (Lorkovic 2009). They do not depend strictly on

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8 mesnica (Lnaeus, craîaegi ' (Lnaeus, brassicae mannii (Lnaeus, rapûre Lorkovic, balcana cardames (Fabricius, (Staudgei caucasica (Fourcroy, croceus alfacariensis ^ (Lnaeus, (Fabricius, acaciae atitum chiffermüller, (Lnaeus, (Lnaeus, quercus (Lnaeu pirithous T 6 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc u u U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U U hj, _) 5s Ü pi, U, ; üs 3 rq "S O 2 kovi, ; Cd r^ r4 rq O n o 2 O 2 a> a o 3 '> '> a> O 0) O "S --> t-> > IT' cd Q > '> > '> H (y5 rsi rn rj rsi rn r rj > r4 r^ r^ o > O o o rtkc o o o O rtk( O H o o o > rxi rxi r4 r4 r^ r^ r~i r4 rsi rsi H O ri 3 rj o <^ 3 3 H o? r^ H > 3 H rn ^ "S a> 3 3 "S "S "S "S "S "S "S OJ "S r-- f 2i 3 "S "S On > '> > > '> "> > > O '> '> > o (U O 'o o o o o O 'o ;<^ o ^O o O o -O M M 'C 'S ;3 t: es cd cd cd 03 Miho t: Miho' 202 Mih Tvrt 202 > > > > > > >o > > > > Z3 H on H m H H H H GO H H Ka o m r 00 ' " rj o" rsi , (S) rj r^ ri ra P r^ " r^ rj rs Mt. > -2 OJD r4 ra r^i rsi r4 Urn QJ S 3 S o OO c rn 5 ri OO ri ri 758 eus. OO OO " cd O r- ir» C r- =3 c (U 9 (Li es ) 85 g 7' 87) Ribbe, f-^ OO 779 c/t (Geyer, (Mayer, :3 cd c (Esper, (Dennis 775) -s: rubi sapis ENIDAE z7zcz5 spi ergane DAE S ' s: :haris ej^/^a ea im u poriü eptidi atyrii ontia 'olias 'olias 'olias -onep 758) YCA Pieris Pieris Pieris 5> O ï; <o Co Co 00 >hrys 'allop ius 'avon 5 eptot peci o rsi m o r-i»n 00 rj rs rj rj r4 r^ rj r4 m m m m m m m m

9 (Rottemburg, alciphron (Herrich-Schäffer, candens (Lnaeus, (Lnaeus, virgaureae (Fuessly, mimus osiris (Lnaeus, Celastra (Lnaeus, (Bergsträsser, argyrognomon Schiffermüller, (Fabricius, artaxerxes eumedon (Rottemburg, semiargus Glaucopsyche (Lnaeus, Phengaris (Hirschke, Phengaris Scolitantides vicrama Pseudophilotes (Ochsenheimer, 20,2,22,23 (Ochsenheimer, Polvommatus 6,7,8,2, (Rottemburg, icarus Polyommatus (Cantener, thersites Polyommatus (Schneider, amandus Polvommatus admus Polyommatus Notalepid. 36 (2): LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC EN LC LC NT NT NT LC LC LC LC NT DD CR NT DD ; ; Sasic 200; 202 Koren ,23 23, ,2 23, 22 8, 9, 8, 22, 8, 22, 7, O o 2, 4 2, 9 5, 4, " 00 7,8,2,3,9 775) 775) 904) 865) 835) 758) 758) 76) 76) 775) 829) (Poda, (Meigen, argiolus 758) 793) 780) 76) (Poda, (Esper, (Dennis 775) alexis 783) 758) 77) (Pallas, (Mre, 86) (Esper, rebeli orion eros phleas arion alcon tityrus argus agestis iolas Lycaena Lycaena 844) Lycaena Lycaena Lycaena Cupido Cupido Plebejus Plebejus 779) Aricia Aricia Aricia Cyaniris lolana 808) 775) 792) o m 'slo m m ^ o

10 c7/77o;7 Ivommatus hiffermülle lyommatus lyommatus hiffermülle Ivommatus lyommatus lyommatus hiffermülle lyommatus ODINIDA (Lnaeus, Hamearis NYMPHALID (Laichartg, Staudgei nenitis rivular (Lnaeu laeus. chloros (Lnaeus, nessa (Lnaeus, nessa naeus, Lnaeus, urticae 8 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc,, u H U H U U U U U _l U U U U U U U U U H- u M u 3 3 "S a> ^ r- 973; 3 3 "S "S 0 <N ^0 ^0 > -0 '> '> 0 > '> cd cd M 0 OJ "S a> -^.^ ica s: am CN Tv t: t: Tv GO Cn) <N Tv Tv <N Q Q ^ 0 vö"o <N <N <N <N t: o > > 3 <N <N 3 <N 'S H 3 "S "S "S 3 3 "S 3 "S lu 'o o ^0 _-o a> '> > '> '> '> '> > 0 '0 '0 0 0 'G '0 0-0 ^0 M Miho 202 Ig M Ig M t\ t: d t; Mih Tvrt Mih Tvrt 2, _c3 Tv Tv Tv Tv s Tv Tv itv S 0" <N 00 ot CN 0" <N m <N <N fn 00" 0 CH 0 ' Mt..Q E 3 C ogl H >n O IIa 5 m 00 ÔÛ (Denis 82; er, (Hübn (Denis tembur (Rot 76), (Poda (Deni 830 r, (Freye 758) 782) 90 ; m 758 \o s, 7 (Lim 758) 758) 00 7 i (ScopoH, 758) 775) cher s on7a5 775) ellargus oridon aphnis 775) ipartii a lue, AE \ celtis ta redi 'a tiopa S s: an po atala cardui (L ( 4 ERIDAE 75) Libythea ptis mphalis mphalis 58) io lais lais esl ^ GO Po Po GO \Po S \Ne peci 00 On 0 m

11 (Lnaeus, c-album Polygonia Argynnis Schiffermüller, (Lnaeus, Mladov Schiffermüller, (Lnaeus, (Lnaeus lathonia Issoria (Bergsträsser, Brenthis Brenthis Schiffermüller, (Lnaeus, euphrosyne Boloria Mladov Melitaea Melitaea Schiffermüller, trivia Melitaea Schiffermüller, (Lnaeus, cxia Melitaea diama Melitaea (Rottemburg, athalia Melitaea (Rottemburg, auria Euphvdryas Stauder (Lnaeus, Melanargia larissa Melanargia Mladov (Scopoli, Hipparchia (Staudger, Hipparchia Mladov (Lnaeus, Hipparchia (Hufnagel, statilus Neohipparchia Nota lepid. 36 (2): LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC NT LC LC LC NT LC LC NT DD DD ; ; ; ; 973; Jugovic 973; 977; 977; 977; 977; ; Koren , , 20,2 8, 20, 20, 8, 22 8, 8, 2, CM 5«- 2,, 4 0, 0, O 8,9 ",2, ^ -4 ^ 758) 87) 758) 780) 758) 775) 00 ^ 758) (Denis 758) (Denis 758) 758) (Dennis 778) (Esper, (Denis 758) 789) (Lang, cd s (ZI < 828) (Geyer, 763) 775) 775) 775) 775) (Denis 775) galathea adippe aglaja pandora paphia daphne hecate didyma phoebe O fagi syriaca semele Argynnis Argynnis Argynnis 775) 766) 00 m \o OO o Os m m 00 o o o m O o

12 Literature Kamesnica NYMPHALIDAE arhusa Arhusana Schiffermüller, 2,23,24 (Fabricius, Brtesia Mladov (Lnaeus, briseis Chazara 6,2,26 (Fabricius, Lorkovic Mladov (Lnaeus, Mladov Lorkovic (Herbst, Stauder Lorkovic Mladov Lorkovic Mladov Lorkovic Herrich-Schäffer, ottomana Mladov Mladov Lorkovic Schiffermüller, Lorkovic Mladov Lorkovic Prunner, triaria {Fabricius, Proterebia Hyponephele Mladov Hyponephele 7,2,22 (LixmaQus, Maniolajurta (Lnaeus, arcania Coenonympha 20 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc a r LC LC NT LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC LC u DD DD 973; ; ; 985; ; ; ; 977; 2009; 922; 2009; 973; 985; 2009; 977; ; ; 985; 985; Koren , 22, 20, OO o 6, Mt. Troglav rn un m 2, 0, 2, 5 3, Mt. 0, 0, number Dara Locality un " Mt. 775) 764) 793) 798) 787) 774) 836) 758) (Denis 777) 805) 758) 796) 804) (Kühn, (Costa, 775) (Esper, {Esper, (Hübner, (Denis 775) (de lycaon lupa circe ferula ahiops ewyale ligea mêlas oeme medusa afra c list Satyrus Erebia Erebia Erebia Erebia Erebia Erebia 847 Erebia Erebia 76) Species un o o o OO o O o m o un OO «N

13 (Borkhausen, glycerion Coenonympha (Lnaeus, pamphilus Coenonympha Mladov rhodopensis Coenonympha (Lnaeus, tithonius (Lnaeus, Lasiommata {hmndiqus, Nota lepid. 36 (2): LC LC LC LC LC LC LC 202 o <N 788) 23 22, 8, ; 973; ; 20 9, 8, ) 900 Elwes, m 758) Pyronia c/f :3 0) C3 c ï Cl CM 767) megera ) aegeria Pararge 00 higher altitudes, but records are most common there. Havg no recent records for either of the two species Croatia, these records from the Dara Mounta cha are important. In Bosnia and Herzegova, only several records of these species exist, and they are generally local and rare (Lelo 2007b). In nearby Montenegro, these species are more widespread and present on several localities (Jaksic 988). Arguably the best known European mounta butterfly, Parnassius apouo (Lnaeus, 758) has previously been recorded only on the Bosnian side of Troglav ( 977). Our records prove that this species is present also on the Croatian side, as it has been recorded both on Troglav and Kamesnica. It can be found on a few mountas the Gorski Kotar region, as well as on Mt. Velebit (Lorkovic 2009). As this species was not present on Mt. Biokovo ( 20), these records probably represent the southernmost records Croatia. The most terestg Pieridae species recorded was Pieris balcana (Lorkovic, 970). The ma distguishable characteristic bween P. balcana and P. napi is the amount of black or greenish suffusion on the lower side of hdwg. While P napi the suffusion usually extends to the end of the wg, P. balcana the suffusion is limited only to the cell and the begng of the ves (Lorkovic 989). Our record represents the only recent record as P. balcana was last recorded more than 20 years ago (Lorkovic 989). It is probably more common the area than previous records suggest (Lorkovic 989), but due to its morphology which is very similar to P. napi, it was probably overlked many areas. The closest known localities of this species are Zelengora and Trebevic Bosnia and Herzegova (Lorkovic 989). The closest record Croatia comes from Tmovac, located about 00 kilomers to the northwest. With our new record from Mt. Troglav, the known range Croatia is significantly creased towards the south. lolana iolas (Ochsenheimer, 86) is a Mediterranean species, Croatia distributed mostly the coastal zones, with rare isolated populations the contental part (Krcmar 2002). In general, this species is not rare Croatia, but is mostly local, limited

14 22 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc Tab. 3. The Daric Mountas with the best-surveyed butterfly faunas, along with the highest altitude, the number of recorded species, and the Sorensen similarity dex bween Dara Massif and the other mounta regions. Mounta Highest altitude Number of species Serensen similarity dex Ucka 40 m % Velebit 757 m % Dara 93 m 28 Biokovo 762 m % Blidje 2228 m % Durmitor 2523 m % to areas with its larval fd plant, Colutea arborescens L. (Legumosae). We recorded a sgle male on the fthills of Mt. Dara, the area with no larval fd plant, so this dividual may well represent a wanderg dividu Such a case was also recorded on Mt. Velebit (Lorkovic 2009). Durg our visit to Mt. Troglav July, special attention was given to searchg for eggs of Phengaris alcon (Dennis Schiffermüller, 775) on Gentiana cruciata L. (Gentianaceae). Adults were not recorded probably because it was late the season, but we managed to fd several eggs at two localities on Mt. Troglav. Approximately 20 plants were examed per locality, and on four of them we dected eggs. This species is probably more common the area, and more targed surveys are needed. Polyommatus thersites (Cantener, 835) is generally considered to be a rare species Croatia ( 2006), but recent records (Koren Ladavac 200; Koren 20 ) dicate that it is probably more common and widespread the country. The species was recorded on both Troglav and Kamesnica fair numbers. The only lycaenid species recorded durg this survey that habits only the higher altitudes was Polyommatus eros (Ochsenheimer, 808). All literature records for this species origate from Mt. Velebit (Grund 96; Lorkovic 2009; Steer 938) and Mt. Dara, where it was mentioned as ''common, but restricted to the highest altitudes" without exact locality ( 202). Our record from the border area of Mts Troglav and Kamesnica bween Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegova significantly expands the known range Croatia. This species was common the area of Mt. Troglav at altitudes above 500 m. Interestgly, on Mt. Kamesnica it was recorded at 800 m a.s.l., which is probably one of the lowest records for this species general (Tolman Lewgton 2008). While the presence of Polyommatus admus (Esper, 785) has previously been confirmed for Mt. Dara (Koren 200b), Mt. Kamesnica is a new locality. This is the commonest species of "brown" lycaenids Croatia. It is present several areas of southern Croatia, and generally local, but occasionally numerous (Koren 200b). The second species belongg to this group, Polyommatus damon (Denis Schiffermiieller, 775), has been recorded only twice before Croatia (Koren 20 ; 2006). The first known locality of this species was Mt. Kamesnica ( 2006), where we confirmed its presence, and we added another locality on Mt. Troglav. Both populations from Mts Kamesnica and Troglav were very numerous (Fig. 3), with

15 Nota lepid. 36 (2): a high number of recorded specimens. For example, on Mt. Troglav, a small surface area of 2 x 2 m% more than 20 dividuals were counted restg at suns. Probably one of the most terestg fdgs was Polyommatus ripartii (Freyer, 830). This species was only recently confirmed for the butterfly fauna of Croatia (Koren 200a). Durg our survey we recorded it on both Mt. Kamesnica and Mt. Troglav. In contrast to P. damon, P. ripartii was very rare on Troglav, and only a sgle specimen was recorded. On the other hand, on Mt. Kamesnica the population was very numerous, and more than 50 dividuals were observed durg our visits. These two records significantly expand the known distribution of this species Croatia towards the south. In neighbourg Bosnia and Herzegova, this species Fig. 3. Polyommatus damon restg on grass, Mt. is also considered to be rare, with only a Troglav. sgle confirmed record (Lelo 2007a). One of the most terestg recorded nymphalid species was Neptis rivularis (Scopoli, 763). The ma area of occurrence of this species Croatia is the northern part of the country, with just a few records from the southern part. The closest record of this species origates from Mt. Dara ( 202). Only a sgle dividual was observed on Mt. Kamesnica. From the 7 recorded species of the genus Erebia, probably the most notable record is that of Erebia triaria (de Prunner, 798). This species was recorded previously from the area of Dara (Lorkovic 2009; Mladov Lorkovic 985; 202) and until now remaed the only known locality Croatia. Due to the unusually early flight period (May), and similar appearance to that of Erebia medusa (Denis Schiffermüller, 775), this species is easily overlked. We observed this species on two localities on Dara, where it was relatively numerous. Of the 94 recorded species, several are of conservation concern. Some of the species are listed on the Red list of butterflies of Croatia (Sasic Kucic 2004) as Critically endangered (CR), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened T), or Data Deficient (DD): Phengaris alcon (CR); Parnassius apollo (VU); Parnassius mnemosyne (Lnaeus, 758), Zerynthia polyxena (Denis Schiffermüller, 775), Glaucopsyche alexis (Poda, 76), Scolitantides orion (Pallas, 77) T); and Pseudophilotes vicrama (Mre, 865), Erebia medusa, Euphydryas auria (Rottemburg, 775), Melitaea britomartis Assmann, 847 and Proterebia afra (Fabricius, 787) (DD). Ten recorded species are listed as Near Threatened the European Red Butterfly list (van Swaay 200): Parnassius apollo, Parnassius mnemosyne, lolana iolas.

16 24 Koren Laus: Dara Massif - a new hotspot for the butterfly diversity of the Daric Arc Polyommatus damon, Polyommatus dorylas (Denis Schiffermüller, 775), Polyommatus eros, Pseudophilotes vicrama, Chazara briseis (Lnaeus, 764), Hipparchia fagi (Scopoli, 763) and Melitaea britomartis. Altogher, 7 species are listed one of the mentioned red lists. This, along with previously mentioned terestg species records, shows the importance and diversity of the surveyed area. Some species recorded durg previous surveys, especially by (202), were not confirmed durg our research. The comparison of our results with the literature is somewhat difficult, as we mostly concentrated on Mts Kamesnica and Troglav, while (202) concentrated mostly on Mt. Dara. However, the differences recorded number of species are not surprisg, as the Dara Massif is a large region, with a high number of different habitats, and we managed to visit only a small part of it. Future visits to the same localities, but different months, should yield higher number of species for each surveyed locality. Conclusions / The Dara Massif, which cludes four ma mountas (Ilica, Dara, Troglav and Kamesnica), is certaly one of the richest areas the Daric Arc terms of butterfly diversity. With our records and the literature records, a total of 28 species is known for the area. This number will probably grow the fixture, and more new records are to be expected. Special attention should be given to Ilica Mounta, for which no data on butterfly diversity are available. One of the reasons why these mountas were not recently surveyed is their accessibility, especially due to the mefields left after the last war. In a certa way this favours biodiversity, because it limits human impact on the area. On the other hand, these areas are left to succession, especially after the abandonment of the traditional outdr livestock farmg. Acknowledgments We are grateful to Ana Stih for her help with the field work, and to Jure Jugovic for the useful advice regardg this manuscript. References Dumbovic, V., A. Duplic, K. Fabrio, D. Jelic, L. Katusic, G. Krivanek, K. Leko, D. Markovic, P. Okovic, V. Posavec Vukelic, P. Okovic, G. Sestani, I. Zupan, G. Zwicker Kompar I. Zeger Plese Tech report: Dara -Assembly elaborate. State Institute for Nature Protection, Zagreb. 5 pp. Gottste-Matocec, S. (ed.) An overview of the cave and terstitial biota of Croatia. - Entomologia Croatica : suppl., 2 pp. Grund, A. 96. Beiträge zur kroatischen Lepidoperen-Fauna. - Glasnik Hrvatskog prirodoslovnog drustva 28 (-2): 95-05; (3-4): Hafner, I Verzeichnis der bei Kn gesammelten Schmterlge (Lepidoptera). - Natura Croatica 3(2): Jaksic, P Provisional distribution maps of the butterflies of Yugoslavia (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera). - Jugoslavensko Entomolosko drustvo, Zagreb, posebna izdanja [special issue], 25 pp. Koren, T. 200a. First fdg of Ripart's Anomalous Blue Polyommatus {Agrodiaus) ripartii (Freyer, 830) (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) Croatia. - Natura Croatica 9 (2):

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