Author/Editor		Popović, Miloš; Ðurić, Milan; Franeta, Filip; Verovnik, Rudi
Title		On the extremely rich butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of the south-eastern foothills of Stara Planina Mts in Serbia
Type		članek
Vol. and No.		Letnik 41, št. 4
Publication year		2013
Volume		str. 74-81
Language		eng
Abstract		The Stara Planina Mts. region in Serbia has already been recognized as one of the most butterfly rich regions in Europe with good populations of several rare and threatened species. However, so far the southern part of Stara Planina has been poorly studied. We therefore focused our field surveys on that region visiting 22 sites over a period of seven years. A total of 136 species of butterflies was recorded and new records of several rare species confirm and append our knowledge of the high diversity of Stara Planina. We have confirmed the presence of Muschampia cribrellum in Serbia and extended its known range from Mt. Vidlič to the foothills of the Stara Planina massif. Additionally we found rare species like Leptidea duponcheli, Plebejus sephirus, Erebia alberganus, Melitaea arduinna and Nymphalis xanthomelas at several new sites. Despite sufficient legislative protection, the butterfly fauna of the region is under threat due to infrastructural developments and abandonment.
Keywords		diversity endangerment nature park primer butterfly areas Stara Planina Mts. Serbia