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Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Hrvatsko zagorje, Croatia

During a nine-year survey of the Hrvatsko zagorje region carried out from 2008 until 2016 we recorded 112 butterfly species. Records were supplemented with seven species known only from literature data, which amounted to 119 species representing 60 % of the Croatian butterfly fauna. The highest butterfly diversity was registered on the mountains Ivanščica and Strahinjščica and along the Sutla River valley. Several rare and endangered species were recorded in the region, mostly grassland specialists such as Phengaris teleius, Ph. alcon rebeli, Polyommatus thersites, Euphydryas aurinia and Zerynthia polyxena whose habitats are declining due to changes in the use of grasslands like abandonment or, less frequently, intensification. The population of Lycaena dispar is still locally numerous, but its habitats are now rapidly overgrown with invasive alien plants. The butterfly diversity of Hrvatsko zagorje is high in comparison with the neighbouring region of Haloze in Slovenia. In order to maintain the high butterfly diversity in the region, grasslands and forest edges in the region are in a need of conservation actions and revitalization.

Lepidoptera, butterfly diversity, Croatia, Hrvatsko zagorje

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