engleski

Can spreading of the Geranium Bronze Cacyreus marshalli (Butler, 1898) (Insecta, Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae) in Croatia be assigned to climate change?

Background and Purpose: The Geranium Bronze Cacyreus marshalli (Butler, 1898) is the only butterfly introduced (non-native) into the European fauna. It was introduced in 1988 on the Balearic Islands from where it spread across Europe. Materials and Methods: Cacyreus marshalli observations were conducted during the day at all locations. At a number of localities, geraniums as larval host plants were inspected to determine the presence of C. marshalli caterpillars. Results and Conclusions: In Croatia, C. marshalli first appeared on the island of Lošinj. The paper presents new distribution data for the Geranium Bronze and its expansion across Croatia (all in the Mediterranean area) and discusses possibilities of spread due to climate change. Further systematic monitoring of spreading of C. marshalli in Croatia is necessary for it to be assigned to changing climate and above average temperatures in the last years, in particular since 2000.

butterflies; non-native; Geranium; climate change

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