NATURA SLOVENIAE Revija za terensko biologijo • Journal of Field Biology L e t n i k • V o l u m e 2 5 Š t e v i l k a • N u m b e r 1 Ljubljana 2023 Vsebina je objavljen pod določili licence Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna, ki dovoljuje neomejeno rabo, razširjanje in kopiranje v kakršnemkoli mediju ter obliki, pod pogojem, da sta navedena avtor in vir. The content is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. NATURA SLOVENIAE Revija za terensko biologijo • Journal of Field Biology Letnik/Volume 25 • Številka/Issue 1 • 2023 Založila • Published by Založba Univerze v Ljubljani/University of Ljubljana Press Za založbo/For the Publisher: Gregor Majdič, rektor Univerze v Ljubljani/the Rector of the University of Ljubljana Izdajata • Issued jointly by Biotehniška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana Tel.: (0)1 320 30 00; Telefax: (0)1 256 57 82 http://www.bf.uni-lj.si Za izdajatelja/For the Issuer: Marina Pintar, dekanja Biotehniške fakultete UL/the Dean of the Biotehnical Faculty UL Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo Večna pot 111, SI-1000 Ljubljana Tel.: (0)59 232 700; Telefax: (0)1 2412 980 http://www.nib.si Za izdajatelja/For the Issuer: Maja Ravnikar, direktorica/director https://journals.uni-lj.si/NaturaSloveniae Glavni urednik • Editor in Chief Maja Zagmajster Odgovorni urednik • Responsible Editor Tehnični urednik • Technical Editor Rok Kostanjšek Jernej Polajnar Uredniški odbor • Editorial Board Matjaž Bedjanič (Slovenia), Nicola Bressi (Italy), Maarten de Groot (Slovenia), Marijan Govedič (Slovenia), Nejc Jogan (Slovenia), Borut Mavrič (Slovenia), Nataša Mori (Slovenia), Toni Nikolić (Croatia), Nina Šajna (Slovenia), Chris Van Swaay (Netherlands), Peter Trontelj (Slovenia), Rudi Verovnik (Slovenia), Damjan Vinko (Slovenia) Naslov uredništva • Address of the Editorial Office NATURA SLOVENIAE, Večna pot 111, SI-1111 Ljubljana, Slovenija Izvlečki prispevkov so zavedeni v zbirkah ASFA, AGRIS, Biological Abstracts, Biosis Previews, COBISS in Zoological Records ISSN: 1580-0814 e-ISSN: 1854-3081 UDK: 57/59(051)=863=20 Lektorji • Language Editors Oblikovanje naslovnice • Layout za angleščino (for English): Henrik Ciglič Daša Simčič akad. slikarka, Atelje T za slovenščino (for Slovene): Henrik Ciglič Natisnjeno • Printed in Naklada • Circulation 2023 300 izvodov/copies Tisk • Print Publikacija je brezplačna Cicero, Begunje, d.o.o. The publication is free of charge Sofinancira • Cofinanced by Javna agencija za znanstvenoraziskovalno in inovacijsko dejavnost RS/Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency Kazalo vsebine ZNANSTVENI ČLANEK / SCIENTIFIC PAPER Luka ŠTURM, Andrej PETERNEL, Jure ZAMAN, Rudi VEROVNIK: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Central Slovenia. / Prispevek k poznavanju favne metuljev (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) centralne Slovenije. ..............................................................5 KRATKI ZNANSTVENI VESTI / SHORT COMMUNICATIONS Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper Xya variegata (Latreille, 1809) (Orthoptera: Tridactylidae) occuring in Slovenia. / Prva potrditev pojavljanja pisane krtovke Xya variegata (Latreille, 1809) (Orthoptera: Tridactylidae) v Sloveniji. ........................................... 27 Toni KOREN, Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna (Insecta: Lepidoptera) of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. / Prispevek k favni nočnih metuljev (Insecta: Lepidoptera) Bosne in Hercegovine in Hrvaške. ............................................................................................... 37 TERENSKI NOTICI / FIELD NOTES Luka MRZELJ: The first record of the Monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814) (Pisces: Gobiidae) in Slovenia. / Prva opisana najdba rečnega glavoča Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814) (Pisces: Gobiidae) v Sloveniji. ..................................................................................................... 47 Primož PRESETNIK, Maks PETRIČ, Matjaž ČUK, Milan VOGRIN: Confirmation of the alpine salamander Salamandra atra (Laurenti, 1768) on Slovenian side of the Gorjanci Mountains. / Potrditev planinskega močerada Salamandra atra (Laurenti, 1768) na slovenski strani Gorjancev. ................. 49 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Prejeto / Received: 23. 12. 2022 SCIENTIFIC PAPER Sprejeto / Accepted: 12. 5. 2023 DOI: 10.14720/ns.25.1.5-25 Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2023 Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) of Central Slovenia Luka ŠTURM 1* , Andrej PETERNEL 2 , Jure ZAMAN 2 , Rudi VEROVNIK 3 1 Department of food science and technology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; E-mail: lukalory@gmail.com, luka.sturm@bf.uni-lj.si 2 Fisheries research institute of Slovenia, Spodnje Gameljne 61a, 1211 Ljubljana - Šmartno; E-mails: andrej.peternel@gmail.com, jure.zaman@gmail.com 3 Department of biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Jamnikarjeva 101, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; E-mail: rudi.verovnik@bf.uni-lj.si * Corresponding author Abstract. The southwestern Posavsko hills and northern Suha krajina are among the least studied areas regarding the butterfly fauna in Slovenia. To fill this knowledge gap, we selected all unpublished records of butterflies since 2014, in addition to the focused field surveys performed in the 2019–2022 period. We recorded a total of 105 butterfly species, presenting almost 60% of all species found in Slovenia. Among the species found, there are several habitat specialists of high conservation importance, e.g., Leptidea morsei, Euphydryas aurinia, Parnassius mnemosyne, Phengaris arion, Carcharodus floccifera, Lycaena dispar. Locations harbouring these species and those with the highest species richness are of great importance for preserving the diverse butterfly fauna of the region. Key words: southwestern Posavsko hills, northern Suha krajina, faunistics, conservation, field surveys, species richness Izvleček. Prispevek k poznavanju favne metuljev (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) centralne Slovenije – Jugozahodni del Posavskega hribovja in severni del Suhe krajine sta glede favne dnevnih metuljev v Sloveniji med najslabše raziskanimi območji. V ta namen smo med letoma 2019 in 2022 opravili serijo usmerjenih popisov, zraven pa so vključeni še neobjavljeni podatki od leta 2014 naprej. Skupaj smo zabeležili 105 vrst metuljev, kar pomeni skoraj 60 % vseh vrst dnevnih metuljev, najdenih v Sloveniji. Med najdenimi vrstami so bile tudi take, ki so pomembne z naravovarstvenega vidika, npr. Leptidea morsei, Euphydryas aurinia, Parnassius mnemosyne, Phengaris arion, Carcharodus floccifera, Lycaena dispar. Lokacije z omenjenimi vrstami, kot tudi tiste z največjo pestrostjo, so pomembne za ohranitev velike pestrosti metuljev te regije. Ključne besede: jugozahodno Posavsko hribovje, severna Suha krajina, favnistika, naravovarstvo, terenski popisi, vrstna pestrost 6 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Introduction Among the least studied parts of Slovenia in terms of butterflies are the southwestern Posavsko hills and northern Suha krajina between the Krka and Sava Rivers in Central Slovenia. No extensive surveys of butterflies were undertaken in the region, with only a few records included in the Atlas of Butterflies of Slovenia and its supplement (Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013). Most of the past surveys and data collection were carried out during the designation of Natura 2000 network in order to outline the distribution species under the Habitat Directive (OJ EC 1992; Ur. l. RS 2004a) or under the Regulation on protected wild animal species (Ur. l. RS 2004b). Based on these surveys, Suha krajina and Mirenščica were recognised as areas of conservational importance for butterflies (Čelik et al. 2005) due to the presence of two species listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive, and in Annex I and II of the Regulation on protected wild animal species (OJ EC 1992, Ur. L. RS. 2004a, 2004b), Leptidea morsei and Euphydryas aurinia, while previous data also highlighted Moravška Gora, where both mentioned species were also found (Verovnik et al. 2012). Due to their presence, these localities are still regularly surveyed, and the results of these surveys are included in this report. However, since only two qualifying species were recognised, these areas were not included in Natura 2000 (Ur. L. RS 2004a). Consequently, only small parts of the studied area are covered by the network, mostly towards the south near the Krka River (Krka s pritoki, SI3000338), around Trebnje (Trebnje, SI3000382; Vejar, SI30000056; Vrhtrebnje – Sv. Ana, SI3000057) and around Mirna (Mirna, SI3000059) (Ur. L. RS 2004a). It must be additionally noted that none of the existing Natura 2000 areas were designated for butterflies’ species listed in Annex II of the Habitat Directive. The past surveys indicated a potential high butterfly diversity of the studied region especially due to presence of several specialist species uncommon in central Slovenia, e.g. Lycaena dispar, Polyommatus thersites, Polyommatus dorylas, Parnassius mnemosyne, Pyrgus armoricanus, Carcharodus floccifera, etc. (Čelik et al. 2005; Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013), some of which are also included in the Regulation on protected wild animal species (Ur. L. RS 2004b). With this in mind, a more extensive survey of the area was needed, focusing on wide coverage of the surveyed region and targeted search for rare or threatened species. Materials and methods Geographical description of the studied region The surveyed region cannot be described as a well-defined unit, and is composed from several geographical/regional units: Dolenjsko podolje, Suha krajina with Dobrepolje and southwestern part of Posavsko hills. According to Perko (1998) and its new regionalisation of Slovenia, the area lies at the boundary between the Dinaric and Alpine macro-regions. The first is represented mainly by Dinaric plains, valley systems and corrosion plains in the south, while the second is composed mainly of Alpine hills in the north. These parts of Slovenia are known for their typical temperate continental climate (Ogrin 1996), with 1300–1800 mm of annual rainfall, while the average year temperatures are around 7–10 °C, depending on altitude and other factors (Vrtačnik & Bertalanič 2017). Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 7 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Topographically, the studied region is not diverse as it consists mainly of hilly terrain between two river valleys, with some small valleys and basins where bigger towns are situated. It is mostly covered with hills which rarely rise above 600 m, with the highest being Obolno at 776 m just north of the Stična village. The hills north of Ivančna Gorica-Trebnje (A2) highway are generally slightly higher, while the hills south of the highway rarely exceed 500 m, with Trebni vrh being the highest at 581 m (Požar 2005). The largest part of the region consists of limestone and dolomite bedrock, with a few deposits of clays and silts in some basins and valleys (e.g., Ivančna Gorica) (Perko 1998). The predominant vegetation consists of beech, chestnut, oak, fir, European hornbeam and partly birch, while south-facing slopes are locally dominated by red pine (parts of Moravška Gora). Cultivation, settlements and pastures are concentrated around larger towns like Ivančna Gorica, Trebnje, Mirna and along the Krka River (Perko 1998). The particularly important characteristic of the region, however, are its still relatively widely preserved dry, and partially humid extensive grasslands, which provide important habitats for many butterfly species. The approximate surveying borders in this study were set between the Krka River (Krka-Žužemberk) in the south, the line connecting Žužemberk-Mirna Peč-Mokronog towns in the east, Mokronog-Velika Preska-Šmartno pri Litiji towns in the north, and Šmartno pri Litiji-Prežganje-Polica-Krka towns in the west (Fig. 1). Field work The surveys of the area took place from 2014–2022, with the majority of research performed during the summer of 2019, March–November of 2020 and summer of 2022. During each survey, the entire area of the chosen locality was thoroughly checked, with all found butterfly species recorded. Records made prior to 2014 are not included, since they were already published in the Atlas of Butterflies of Slovenia or in its supplement (Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013). In total, 70 localities were surveyed throughout the region, however, most localities are concentrated in the areas where extensive grasslands abound (Fig. 1). The surveying was performed using a butterfly net and identification was done in the field. Butterflies were not collected, therefore genital dissection needed for separation of Leptidea sinapis/juvernica species complex was not carried out. The butterflies were determined using the standard butterfly guide (Tolman and Lewington 2008), while localities were selected based on our past surveys (Moravška Gora, Debeče, Vodice pri Gabrovki, Pusti Javor, Leskovec, Metnaj, Osredek nad Stično, Tlaka, Primskovo and Lisec; all the previously surveyed localities are included in the Atlas of Butterflies of Slovenia or in its supplement (Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013)), knowledge of the region, and from the inspection of satellite photos/maps. All surveys were performed during appropriate weather conditions (sunny, relatively light wind, temperatures above 15 °C) between 9:00–18:00. 8 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Figure 1. Map of the southwestern Posavsko hills and northern Suha krajina with the included localities surveyed between 2014 and 2022. Numbers refer to description of localities in Tab. 1. The position of the surveyed area within the country is shown with a grey square in the upper right corner. Slika 1. Zemljevid severozahodnega dela Posavskega hribovja in severnega dela Suhe krajine z vključenimi lokacijami, pregledanimi med 2014 in 2022. Številke lokalitet so enake opisom lokalitet v Tab. 1. Položaj raziskovanega območja znotraj države je prikazan s sivim kvadratom zgoraj desno. Results and discussion General overview of localities and species During the surveys, 44 localities were closely examined once, while 26 localities were surveyed at least twice. Most butterfly species were found at three localities at least, while nine species were found at two localities and eight species at a single one. During the surveying of the region, a total of 105 species or species complexes were found representing almost 60% of all species found in Slovenia (Verovnik 2019). Among these three species belonged to the family Papilionidae, 12 to Pieridae, 32 to Lycaenidae, a single one to Riodinidae, 45 to Nymphalidae, and 12 to Hesperiidae. Species found at more than half of the surveyed localities could be considered common in the region and include: Colias crocea, Gonepteryx rhamni, Pieris rapae, L. sinapis/juvernica, Polyommatus icarus, Coenonympha pamphilus, Maniola jurtina, Melanargia galathea, and Ochlodes sylvanus. Unsurprisingly, these species are also widespread in other parts of Central Slovenia (Verovnik et al. 2012). Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 9 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 With addition of eight species recorded only in previous surveys (Colias hyale, Pieris ergane, Lysandra coridon, Nymphalis antiopa, Euphydryas maturna, Limenitis populi, Fabriciana (Argynnis) niobe and Pyrgus alveus) (Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013), a total of 113 have been recorded from this part of central Slovenia so far. This puts the region among the most diverse in continental Slovenia, comparable with the Haloze and Goričko regions further eastwards – both with 109 species recorded (Verovnik 2000; Verovnik 2003; Verovnik et al. 2012). This is still somewhat less diverse compared to the two main centres of butterfly diversity at the junction with the sub-Mediterranean region in the Vipava Valley and at Kraški rob closer to the coast, with more than 130 species recorded (Verovnik et al. 2012). Among the species observed, 22 are included in the red list of butterflies of Slovenia (Ur. l. RS 2002), 15 in the European red list of butterflies (Van Swaay et al. 2010), eight in the Regulation on protected wild animal species (Ur. l. RS 2004b), and five in the Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ EC 1992) (Tab. 3). Most species-rich localities are (in order of most species found): Moravška Gora, Žužemberk, Brezovo and Vrh pri Križu, and Vrhovo pri Žužemberku (Tab. 1). It is not surprising that the localities Moravška Gora and Brezovo are relatively close to one another, which is also true for localities Vrh pri Križu, Vrhovo pri Žužemberku and Žužemberk. In the case of the Moravška Gora and Brezovo localities, they are located near the northern border of the surveyed area at a relatively high altitude, both above 550 m. Characteristic of both localities are warm and dry extensive grasslands, and open deciduous woods on calcareous bedrock, which are sometimes replaced by pines. The entire area has a strong karst outlook, which is additionally increased by the abundance of large satyrids (e.g. Hipparchia fagi). In the case of Moravška Gora, especially near the village road, small gardens and orchards are also abundant, which additionally enrich the flora of the area. This abundance of habitat types, specific geographical location, as well as the presence of still relatively preserved areas of extensive grasslands are the main reasons for the vide variety of butterfly species. The main habitat characteristics of the localities Vrh pri Križu, Vrhovo pri Žužemberku and Žužemberk, on the other hand, are the combination of humid and dry extensive grasslands, as well as woodlands with clearings in different stages of overgrowth. Thus, many different habitat specialists can be found in the area (e.g. L. dispar, Lycaena hippothoe and C. floccifera characteristic for humid, and Melitaea aurelia, M. britomartis and Brenthis hecate characteristic for dry extensive grasslands). All three localities are situated at the southern edge of the surveyed area, near the Krka River, at altitudes around 300 m, and have at least some karst characteristics including smaller valleys, exposed rocky terrain, etc. Combination of the mentioned characteristics, which include dry and humid extensive grasslands, riparian vegetation near the Krka River, rocky outcrops, as well as orchards, forest edges, etc., is reflected in high species richness, which is characteristic for low altitude, karst, habitat-rich areas in Slovenia, e.g., Vipava Valley, areas around Dragonja/Sečovlje villages, etc. (Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013). 10 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Table 1. The list of localities surveyed during the study, including the description of locality and its habitat, coordinates, altitude, and date(s) of surveys. Coordinates are given in a WGS-84 decimal degrees, latitude (Lat.) followed by longitude (Long.). Abbreviations of names on the given surveying date refer to: AP – Andrej Peternel, LŠ – Luka Šturm, RV – Rudi Verovnik and JZ - Jure Zaman. Tabela 1. Seznam lokalitet, vzorčenih med študijo, skupaj z opisom lokalitete in habitata, koordinat, nadmorske višine in datumom/ov vzorčenj(a). Koordinate so podane v WGS-84-decimalnih stopnjah kot zemljepisna širina (Lat.) in zemljepisna dolžina (Long.). Okrajšave imen ob datumih posamičnih vzorčenj pripadajo: AP – Andrej Peternel, LŠ – Luka Šturm, RV – Rudi Verovnik in JZ – Jure Zaman. No. Name Description Habitat type Coordinates (Lat, Long) Altitude (m) Date No. of species 1 Grasslands on slopes 200 m E of Metnaj; N of Ivančna Gorica Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.979046, 14.810992 540 31.05.2014 (RV); 18.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 13 2 Grasslands 130 m W of Pristava nad Stično; N of Ivančna Gorica Hay meadows; forest edge 45.987053, 14.819198 550 31.05.2014 (RV) 6 3 Grasslands 300 m E and S of Brezovo: NE of Gabrovka Dry extensive and intensive grasslands; forest edge 46.007416, 14.997887 620 13.5.2018, 2.5.2020, 1.5.2021, 11.8.2022 (RV); 21.07.2019 (AP, LŠ, JZ), 9.8.2022 (AP, LŠ) 51 4 S slopes at Moravška Gora; N of Gabrovka Dry grasslands; forest edge, road verges, open woods 46.008222, 14.985342 560 13.5.2018, 2.5.2020, 1.5. and 1.6. 2021, 11.8.2022 (RV); 21.07.2019 (AP, LŠ, JZ); 7.5.2020 (AP, JZ); 9. and 20.5.2021 (JZ), 9.8.2022 (AP, LŠ) 62 5 Grasslands 300 m SE of Zgornje Vodice; N of Gabrovka Hay meadows; forest edge 46.013036, 14.980054 660 13.5.2018, 2.5.2020, 1.5. and 30.5.2021 (RV) 21 6 Meadows 800 m NW of Potok village, along Stiški potok stream; Gabrje pri Stični; N of Ivančna Gorica Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.978070, 14.792910 420 16.6.2019 (AP, LŠ); 18.7.2019 (AP, JZ); 19.07.2019 (LŠ) 39 7 Grasslands at the elementary school, S of Stična; N of Ivančna Gorica Intensive grasslands; forest edge 45.946490, 14.808600 350 18.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 10 8 Small river valley of Stiški potok, 50 m N of Gabrje pri Stični; N of Ivančna Gorica Shrub and flowers along the stream; forest edge 45.960810, 14.808390 390 18.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 11 9 Grasslands 300 m SE of Lanšprež manor, near Gomilščica stream; Gomila; N of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.924140, 15.053820 270 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ); 27.10.2019, 7.3. and 3.5.2020 (JZ); 21 10 Grasslands S, SE and E of Migolska Gora, around Mirenščica stream; N of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.955660, 15.035740 290 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ); 6.8.2021, 3.7.2022 (JZ) 24 11 Grasslands 450 m SW of Selo pri Mirni, near Homščica stream; N of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.969480, 15.025430 350 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 5 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 11 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 No. Name Description Habitat type Coordinates (Lat, Long) Altitude (m) Date No. of species 12 Overgrowing grasslands 450 m S of Pretržje, near Gabrovščica stream; SE of Gabrovka Partially overgrowing humid meadows; forest edge 45.990830, 14.992470 350 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 5 13 Grasslands and shrubs 450 m NE of Tlaka; S of Gabrovka Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.982300, 14.992700 340 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 17 14 Grasslands beneath the ruins of Turn castle, near Turnska Cerknica stream; Gabrska Gora; SW of Gabrovka Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.986280, 14.977260 330 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 7 15 Grasslands 50 m S of Okrog (Dule), near Dušica stream; S of Gabrovka Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.969640, 14.977640 330 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 9 16 Grasslands 250 m S of Selska Gora, near Mirenščica stream; N of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.958710, 15.019350 300 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 10 17 Forest clearing and grasslands 450 m NW of Mala Ševnica, near Cedilnica stream; N of Trebnje Partially overgrown humid grasslands; forest edge 45.950120, 15.000450 300 19.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 11 18 Grasslands NW of Trstenik, 250 S of Srasle, along the Trstenik-Zabukovje road; Srasle; NE of Mirna Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.970665, 15.048959 280 21.07.2019 (AP, LŠ, JZ) 11 19 Grasslands 350 m N of quarry at Gorenje Zabukovje, near stream Ločica; Zabukovje; NW of Mirna Humid grasslands, forest edge 45.992150, 15.043090 360 21.07.2019 (AP, LŠ, JZ); 24.6.2020, 14.6.2021 (JZ) 24 20 Grasslands in a small valley 50 m E of Hohovica; NW of Gabrovka Humid grasslands; shrubs 46.008900, 14.962910 360 21.07.2019 (AP, LŠ, JZ) 18 21 Grasslands 600 m S and SE of Korita; S of Trebnje Intensive grasslands; forest edge 45.857172, 14.982919 250 22.07.2019 (LŠ) 8 22 Grasslands 400 m W of Podlipa; NE of Žužemberk Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.841410, 14.992745 250 22.07.2019 (LŠ) 19 23 Grasslands and forest clearings 700 m N and NE of Volčja Jama; N of Žužemberk Dry grasslands; forest edge and clearings 45.877523, 14.932309 340 22.07.2019 (LŠ) 19 24 Grasslands 600 m S of Babna Gora; W of Trebnje Intensive grasslands; forest edge 45.895795, 14.915733 320 22.07.2019 (LŠ) 10 25 Grasslands and shrubs on slopes SW of Stična; N of Ivančna Gorica Dry grasslands; forest edge, shrubs 45.950694, 14.790047 420 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 13 26 Grasslands 900 m NE of Velika Dobrava; NW of Ivančna Gorica Intensive grasslands; forest edge 45.967970, 14.781077 540 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 21 12 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 No. Name Description Habitat type Coordinates (Lat, Long) Altitude (m) Date No. of species 27 Grasslands 1100 m E of Leskovec, near Stiški potok stream; NW of Ivančna Gorica Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.993935, 14.764731 540 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 18 28 Grasslands and slopes 850 m W of Leskovec; NW of Ivančna Gorica Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.991234, 14.739448 740 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 14 29 Grasslands on slopes 700 m SW of Mali Vrh pri Prežganju, near Veliki potok stream; NE of Grosuplje Dry and humid grasslands; forest edge 45.999935, 14.726270 480 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 15 30 Gasslands and clearing 200 m S of Veliko Trebeljevo; SW of Litija Intensive grasslands; forest edge 46.006583, 14.741094 540 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 10 31 Grasslands on slopes 400 m E of Veliko Trebeljevo; SW of Litija Dry grasslands; forest edge 46.012669, 14.745662 500 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 21 32 Grasslands near Reka stream, 850 m E of Veliko Trebeljevo; SW of Litija Intensive grasslands; forest edge 46.013711, 14.752331 380 23.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 16 33 Grasslands and slopes 250 m W and SW of Debeče, near Bukovica stream; S of Litija Humid and dry grasslands; forest edge 45.997272, 14.805665 530 23. and 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 14 34 Grasslands and slopes at Osredek nad Stično; SW of Litija Dry grasslands; forest edge 46.001805, 14.794284 620 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 17 35 Grasslands and slopes in a small valley 400 m W of Jastrebnik; SW of Litija Humid and dry grasslands; forest edge 46.016975, 14.784236 420 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 14 36 Grasslands and slopes 200 m S of Volčja Jama; SW of Litija Dry grasslands; forest edge 46.029719, 14.799543 340 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 13 37 Grasslands and slopes at Podroje, near Koški potok stream; S of Litija Humid and dry grasslands; forest edge 46.019302, 14.828849 300 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 30 38 Grasslands and slopes 350 m S of Kot, near Koški potok stream; S of Litija Humid and dry grasslands; forest edge 46.016018, 14.812797 330 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 22 39 Clearings 1250 m SW of Vintarjevec, near Vintarjevški potok stream; S of Litija Partially overgrowing clearings; forest edge 46.008348, 14.813535 340 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 11 40 Grasslands on slopes 100 m NE of Bukovica (Cerovec); S of Litija Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.992163, 14.856168 480 24.07.2019 (LŠ, JZ) 13 41 Grasslands 900 m NW of Mačkovec; NW of Trebnje Partially overgrowin humid grasslands; forest edge 45.954820, 14.952630 320 25.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 14 42 Grasslands 750 m N of Dolga Njiva pri Šentlovrencu; NW of Trebnje Humid extensive and intensive grasslands; forest edge 45.959520, 14.938300 330 25.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 14 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 13 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 No. Name Description Habitat type Coordinates (Lat, Long) Altitude (m) Date No. of species 43 Grasslands 150 m N of Primskovo, near Laniški potok stream; NW of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.972150, 14.920530 340 25.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 20 44 Grasslands on slopes W of Mišji dol; NE of Ivančna Gorica Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.987440, 14.898270 380 25.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 14 45 Grasslands at Pusti Javor, along Temenica-Prečna stream; S of Litija Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.996970, 14.870488 380 25.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 29 46 Grasslands on slopes 250 m E of Zafara; E of Žužemberk Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.834630, 14.946490 310 26.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 12 47 Grasslands on slopes 350 m N of Valična vas; NW of Žužemberk Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.865560, 14.872430 400 26.7.2019 (AP, JZ) 15 48 Grasslands around Štefan pri Trebnjem, also near Temenica-Prečna stream; W of Trebnje Humid grasslands; shrub 45.907994, 14.991682 280 Mar.-Jun., Avg. 2020 (JZ) 22 49 Grasslands between and N of Kamni Potok and Gorenja Nemška vas; W of Trebnje Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.917945, 14.984703 300 Mar.-May 2020 (JZ) 31 50 Grasslands around both Pekel/Studenec, mainly to the N; NW of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.916776, 14.997149 300 Mar.-Jul., Nov. 2020, 8.5.2021 (JZ) 39 51 Grasslands around both Trebnje/Praproče settlements Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.911781, 15.011120 290 Mar.-Jun. 2020 (JZ) 27 52 Grasslands 200 m E of Primštal; NE of Trebnje Intensive grasslands; forest edge 45.917342, 15.038491 310 3.4. and 14.5.2020 (JZ) 7 53 Grasslands at Blato, and near Blato pond; N of Trebnje Intensive grasslands; forest edge and shrubs 45.931561, 14.998300 320 Apr., Nov. 2020 (JZ) 12 54 Grasslands at Gorenje Medvedje selo, mostly to the N; N of Trebnje Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.921505, 15.023672 310 Apr.-Jun. 2020 (JZ) 32 55 Grasslands at the SE of Lisec; SW of Trebnje Dry grasslands; forest edge and shrubs 45.861220, 14.961370 380 7.5.2020 (AP, JZ); 8.8.2021, 18.4., 16.10.2022 (JZ) 30 56 Partially overgrown grasslands at Mirna pond; Mirna; NE of Trebnje Intensive grasslands; riparian vegetation 45.956794, 15.055127 260 25.6.2020, 3.7.2022 (JZ) 3 57 Grasslands 250 m W and N of Dolenji Vrh; S of Trebnje Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.878407, 15.004673 450 12.7.2020 (JZ) 4 58 Grasslands 170 m SE of Mala Goba; N of Gabrovka Dry grasslands; forest edge 46.037143, 14.982466 700 1.5.2021 (RV) 5 59 Grasslands at Gabrovka, E of the school Intensive grasslands; forest edge 46.000162, 14.992439 420 1.5. and 21.6.2021 (RV) 28 14 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 No. Name Description Habitat type Coordinates (Lat, Long) Altitude (m) Date No. of species 60 Grasslands 600 m NW of Gorenje Selce; W of Trebnje Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.904710, 14.925960 380 5.6.2022 (JZ) 27 61 Grasslands 100 m NE of Dolenje Kamenje pri Dobrniču; SW of Trebnje Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.886930, 14.940770 320 5.6.2022 (JZ) 19 62 Grasslands 350 m SE of Vrh pri Križu; NW of Žužemberk Humid grasslands; forest edge 45.854780, 14.898450 270 16.5. and 11.8. 2022 (RV), 5.6.2022 (JZ), 12.6.2022 (LŠ, JZ), 9.8.2022 (AP, LŠ) 51 63 Grasslands 650 m NW of Vrh pri Križu; NW of Žužemberk Dry grasslands; forest edge 45.864190, 14.889990 350 16.5. and 11.8.2022 (RV), 5.6.2022 (JZ) 31 64 Small lake in an abandoned quarry 600 m E of Valična vas; NW of Žužemberk Ruderal sandy areas; shrubland; 45.858940, 14.881950 300 20.5. and 11.8.2022 (RV), 5.6.2022 (JZ) 25 65 Abandoned quarry 300 m W of Valična vas; NW of Žužemberk Rocky and sandy slopes; open woods 45.860490, 14.867890 360 16.5.2022 (RV), 5.6.2022 (JZ) 11 66 Grasslands 100 m N of Debenec; NE of Trebnje Dry grasslands; forest clearings 45.931158, 15.091570 440 11.6. and 3.7.2022 (JZ) 20 67 Grasslands 150 m W of Dobrava; NE of Žužemberk Dry and humid grasslands; forest edge 45.854510, 14.960126 260 12.6.2022 (LŠ, JZ) 29 68 Grasslands 250 m NW of Žužemberk Dry and humid grasslands; forest edge 45.837185, 14.924976 270 12.6.2022 (LŠ, JZ), 9.8.2022 (AP, LŠ), 16., 31.10.2022 (JZ) 54 69 Grasslands and forest clearings 600 m E of Vrhovo pri Žužemberku; NW of Žužemberk Dry and humid grasslands; forest edge 45.849283, 14.910535 260 12.6.2022 (LŠ, JZ), 9.8.2022 (AP, LŠ) 46 70 Grasslands at the E edge of Višnji Grm, near the main road; SE of Litija Dry grasslands; forest edge 46.009140, 14.886415 460 1.6.2021 (RV) 6 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 15 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Table 2. The list and occurrence of butterfly species found during the 2014–2022 surveys in southwestern Posavsko hills and northern Suha krajina in Central Slovenia. The localities are indicated by numbers from 1 to 70 as in the list and description of localities. Tabela 2. Seznam in pojavljanje vrst dnevnih metuljev, opaženih med popisi , opravljenimi v obdobju 2014–2022 na območju jugozahodnega dela Posavskega hribovja in severnega dela Suhe krajine v centralni Sloveniji. Lokacije so označene s številkami od 1 do 70 kot v seznamu in opisu lokacij. Family/Species Locality number(s) Papilionidae Iphiclides podalirius (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 6, 10, 13, 19, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 36, 37, 41, 44, 45, 48, 50, 53, 54, 55, 63, 66, 68 Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758 3, 4, 23, 26, 28, 31, 33, 35, 43, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 61, 62, 66, 68 Parnassius mnemosyne (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 49 Pieridae Leptidea morsei (Fenton, 1881) 3, 4, 23 Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758) / Leptidea juvernica Williams, 1946 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 Colias alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905 3, 4, 26, 37, 44, 45, 49, 53, 59, 62 Colias crocea (Fourcroy, 1785) 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 36, 37, 41, 42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69 Gonepteryx rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 45, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69 Anthocharis cardamines (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 9, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 59 Aporia crataegi (Linnaeus, 1758) 50, 68, 69 Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 6, 19, 45, 49, 50, 51, 54, 62, 64, 68 Pieris mannii (Mayer, 1851) 4, 10, 48, 55, 64, 65, 66, 68 Pieris napi (Linnaeus, 1758) 4, 7, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27, 36, 38, 45, 64 Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 44, 45, 55, 59, 60, 67, 68, 69 Pontia edusa (Fabricius, 1777) 48, 68 Lycaenidae Lycaena alciphron (Rottemburg, 1775) 61 Lycaena dispar (Haworth, 1802) 9, 37, 49, 50, 51, 54, 60, 68 Lycaena hippothoe (Linnaeus, 1761) 6, 13, 15, 20, 37, 45, 48, 49, 51, 54, 60, 63, 68, 69 Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1761) 3, 4, 9, 19, 37, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 59, 62, 64, 67, 68, 69 Lycaena tityrus (Poda, 1761) 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 13, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 49, 51, 54, 55, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 68, 69 Lycaena virgaureae (Linnaeus, 1758) 19 Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 50, 51, 54, 55 Favonius quercus (Linnaeus, 1758) 66 Thecla betulae (Linnaeus, 1758) 50, 53, 55 Satyrium acaciae (Fabricius, 1787) 4, 10, 68, 69 Satyrium ilicis (Esper, 1779) 67, 68, 69 Satyrium spini (Denis & Schiffermüeller, 1775) 3, 62 Satyrium w-album (Knoch, 1782) 20, 38, 39, 45 16 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Family/Species Locality number(s) Aricia agestis (Denis & Schiffermüeller, 1775) 2, 3, 4, 6, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 40, 48, 51, 54, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69 Aricia artaxerxes (Fabricius, 1793) 4, 6, 22, 29, 33, 34, 62, 69 Celastrina argiolus (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 10, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69 Cupido argiades (Pallas, 1771) 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 20, 23, 36, 37, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 53, 59, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69 Cupido minimus (Fuessly, 1775) 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 34, 59, 62, 64, 70 Cyaniris semiargus (Rottemburg, 1775) 4 Glaucopsyche alexis (Poda, 1761) 4, 50 Leptotes pirithous (Linnaeus, 1767) 9 Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1898 68 Lysandra bellargus (Rottemburg, 1775) 2, 3, 4, 23, 29, 45, 47, 55, 59, 62, 63, 64, 68, 69 Phengaris arion (Linnaeus, 1758) 4, 6, 15, 19, 20, 29, 31, 37, 40, 43 Plebejus argyrognomon (Bergsträsser, 1779) 6, 46, 49, 55, 62, 69 Plebejus argus (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 3, 4, 13, 14, 19, 20, 26, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 57, 59, 62, 63, 68, 69 Plebejus idas (Linnaeus, 1761) 5, 6, 43, 46, 60, 62, 63 Polyommatus dorylas (Denis & Schiffermüeller, 1775) 34, 37, 59, 62, 63, 64, 69 Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg, 1775) 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 48, 55, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69 Polyommatus thersites (Cantener, 1835) 3, 5, 59 Pseudophilotes vicrama (Moore, 1865) 10, 51 Scolitantides orion (Pallas, 1771) 4, 55 Riodinidae Hamearis lucina (Linnaeus, 1758) 4, 10, 19, 31, 38, 43, 45, 59 Nymphalidae Apatura ilia (Denis and Schiffermüeller, 1775) 24, 48, 56 Apatura iris (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 4, 28, 57, 67 Limenitis camilla (Linnaeus, 1764) 6, 39 Limenitis reducta Staudinger, 1901 4, 6, 19, 42, 50, 54, 62, 64, 65 Neptis rivularis (Scopoli, 1763) 4, 37, 38, 54, 56 Neptis sappho (Pallas, 1771) 19, 50, 54 Argynnis paphia (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 11, 16, 18, 19, 24, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 37, 38, 41, 43, 45, 46, 50, 60, 62, 64, 66, 67, 68, 69 Boloria dia (Linnaeus, 1767) 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 22, 24, 29, 31, 34, 36, 37, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 Boloria euphrosyne (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 5, 55 Brenthis daphne (Bergsträsser, 1780) 4, 6, 8, 10, 17, 22, 39, 42, 43, 50, 51, 60, 63, 67, 68, 69 Brenthis hecate (Denis and Schiffermüeller, 1775) 3, 62, 63, 68, 69 Brenthis ino (Rottemburg, 1775) 16, 29, 46, 47, 68, 69 Speyeria aglaja (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 41, 45 Issoria lathonia (Linnaeus, 1758) 9, 17, 41, 42, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 60, 61, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 17 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Family/Species Locality number(s) Fabriciana adippe (Denis & Schiffermüeller, 1775) 9, 16, 20, 23, 38, 45, 50, 62, 69 Aglais io (Linnaeus, 1758) 4, 6, 9, 17, 19, 23, 37, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52 Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 4, 48, 49, 50, 52, 54, 55, 62, 69 Arachnia levana (Linnaeus, 1758) 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 32, 35, 37, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 54, 59, 62, 64 Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758) 4, 5, 6, 9, 12, 25, 26, 27, 28, 39, 42, 43, 48, 49, 50, 53, 55, 64, 66, 68, 69 Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 44, 47, 49, 52, 54, 59, 60, 61, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 Polygonia c-album (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 3, 5, 6, 33, 38, 39, 42, 45, 48, 49, 50, 54, 56, 60, 64, 68, 69 Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg, 1775) 3, 4, 62, 63, 69 Nymphalis polychloros (Linnaeus, 1758) 9, 49 Melitaea athalia (Rottemburg, 1775) 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 21, 23, 25, 26, 31, 32, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50, 51, 53, 55, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 70 Melitaea aurelia Nickerl, 1850 22, 43, 62, 68 Melitaea britomartis Assmann, 1847 62, 63, 68 Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus, 1758) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 62, 63 Melitaea diamina (Lang, 1789) 6 Melitaea didyma (Esper, 1778) 3, 4, 7, 10, 18, 35, 36, 37, 50, 51, 55, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, 68, 69 Melitaea phoebe (Denis & Schiffermüeller, 1775) 2, 3, 5, 49, 51, 53, 55, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65 Melitaea trivia (Denis & Schiffermüeller, 1775) 49, 50, 51, 54, 60, 67, 68 Aphantopus hyperantus (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45, 57 Brintesia circe (Fabricius, 1775) 26, 65, 67, 68 Coenonympha arcania (Linnaeus, 1761) 3, 4, 6, 51, 54, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69 Coenonympha glycerion (Borkhausen, 1788) 1, 3, 4, 6, 50, 54, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70 Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 Erebia aethiops (Esper, 1777) 3, 4, 6, 10, 19, 27, 29, 34, 38, 45 Hipparchia fagi (Scopoli, 1763) 3, 4, 43, 47, 55 Lasiommata maera (Linnaeus, 1758) 4 Lasiommata megera (Linnaeus, 1767) 4, 25, 48, 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 55, 66, 68 Lopinga achine (Scopoli, 1763) 3, 19, 68, 69 Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 54, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70 Melanargia galathea (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 38, 40, 46, 47, 50, 60, 61, 62, 63, 66, 67, 68, 69 Minois dryas (Scopoli, 1763) 3, 4, 19, 29, 31, 45, 46, 47, 57, 62, 64, 68, 69 Pararge aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 19, 45, 49, 50, 51, 54, 55, 68 18 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Family/Species Locality number(s) Hesperiidae Heteropterus morpheus (Pallas, 1771) 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 50 Carterocephalus palaemon (Pallas, 1771) 54, 63 Hesperia comma (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 33, 36, 55, 62, 63, 64, 68, 69 Ochlodes sylvanus (Esper, 1777) 1, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 50, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69 Thymelicus lineola (Ochsenheimer, 1808) 3, 4, 10, 17, 19, 60, 62, 64, 67, 68, 69 Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761) 6, 7, 13, 17, 20, 22, 50, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69 Carcharodus alceae (Esper, 1780) 50, 51, 55, 60, 64, 66, 68 Carcharodus floccifera (Zeller, 1847) 49, 54, 62, 68, 69 Erynnis tages (Linnaeus, 1758) 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 15, 19, 22, 26, 29, 31, 37, 40, 44, 45, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 58, 59, 62, 63 Pyrgus armoricanus (Oberthür, 1910) 5, 37, 49, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 68, 69 Pyrgus malvae (Linnaeus, 1758) 32, 48, 49, 50, 51, 54, 67 Spialia sertorius (Hoffmannsegg, 1804) 4, 54, 62 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 19 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Table 3. The list of butterfly species included in the Red list of butterflies of Slovenia (Ur. l. RS 2002), European red list of butterflies (Van Swaay et al. 2010), Regulation on protected wild animal species (Ur. l. RS 2004b) and/or Council directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Council Directive 92/43/EEC 1992). Tabela 3. Seznam vrst dnevnih metuljev, vključenih na Rdeči seznam metuljev Slovenije (Ur. l. RS 2002), Evropski rdeči seznam metuljev (Van Swaay et al. 2010), Uredbo o zavarovanih prostoživečih živalskih vrstah (Ur. l. RS 2004b) in/ali na Direktivo Sveta o ohranjanju naravnih habitatov ter prostoživečih živalskih in rastlinskih vrst (Council Directive 92/43/EEC 1992). Species Inclusion in the Red list of butterflies of Slovenia (Ur. l. RS 2002) Inclusion in the European red list of butterflies (Van Swaay et al. 2010): Inclusion in the Regulation on protected wild animal species (Ur. l. RS 2004b) Parnassius mnemosyne* Vulnerable Near threatened × Pieris mannii Vulnerable Least concerned Lycaena alciphron Vulnerable Near threatened Lycaena hippothoe Vulnerable Near threatened Lycaena dispar* Vulnerable Least concerned × Leptidea morsei Vulnerable Endangered × Plebejus argyrognomon Vulnerable Least concerned Plebejus idas Vulnerable Least concerned Pseudophilotes vicrama Vulnerable Near threatened Scolitantides orion Vulnerable Near threatened Apatura ilia Vulnerable Least concerned Euphydryas aurinia* Vulnerable Least concerned × Melitaea aurelia Vulnerable Near threatened Melitaea britomartis Vulnerable Near threatened Melitaea diamina Vulnerable Near threatened Melitaea trivia Vulnerable Near threatened Carcharodus alceae Vulnerable Least concerned Pyrgus armoricanus Vulnerable Least concerned Phengaris arion* Vulnerable Endangered × Spialia sertorius Vulnerable Least concerned Carcharodus floccifera Endangered Near threatened × Polyommatus thersites Endangered Least concerned × Polyommatus dorylas Least concerned Near threatened Hipparchia fagi Least concerned Near threatened Lopinga achine* Least concerned Vulnerable × * Species included in the Council Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (Council Directive 92/43/EEC 1992). * Vrsta vključena na Direktivo Sveta o ohranjanju naravnih habitatov ter prostoživečih živalskih in rastlinskih vrst (Council Directive 92/43/EEC 1992). 20 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Comments to selected species Leptidea morsei (Fenton, 1881) (fam. Pieridae) The isolated occurrence of the species at Gabrovka has been discovered during surveys carried out for the designation of Natura 2000 sites (Čelik et al. 2005) and the species has been monitored regularly at this location in the past years, with the results published in this article. The butterfly has been observed regularly, although in fluctuating numbers on Moravška Gora and its vicinity, where the distribution of its hostplant Lathyrus niger (L., 1753) Bernh., 1800 remains stable as well. We found L. morsei at a new locality at Volčja Jama village north of Žužemberk, where a single male of the second generation was observed in a clearing north of the village on 22.7.2019. The hostplant was also found at the location, occurring on south- facing slopes with sparse oak woods near the village. This suggests that the species is more common in the region than previously thought, as it was now also confirmed in northern Suha krajina, and not only in the vicinity of Moravška Gora in the southwestern parts of Posavsko hills. Consequently, additional surveys should be performed in these parts to consolidate the finding. Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1898 (fam. Lycaenidae) This known allochthonous butterfly species occurs throughout the Mediterranean and was first discovered in Slovenia in 2008 (Verovnik et al. 2011). Despite its known dispersal potential, the only noteworthy range extension in the past few years in Slovenia was in the Soča Valley where it reached Bovec town (Verovnik et al. 2012; Verovnik, pers. obs.). There are only two records from central Slovenia, first from Kranj in 2010, where adults were observed inside a house where pelargoniums were kept over winter (Verovnik et al. 2011), and the second from Žirovski Vrh in the Poljanska Valley, where the butterfly was spotted sitting on a pelargonium plant in September 2020 (Tina Belej, pers. obs.). Its presence on a dry grassland near Žužemberk on 31.10.2022 was therefore unexpected. Given that it was observed also near Ljubljana at Pijava Gorica on 1.11.2022 (Šturm, pers. obs.) it is possible that the species had spread from the Primorska region during the late October heatwave (ARSO 2022). It is, however, unlikely that larvae or adults would have survived the harsh winters outdoors in Central Slovenia, for otherwise it would have been observed more regularly here in the past decade. It would be worth surveying the urban areas in the vicinity of the finds in the next autumn to check whether local populations have been established. Aricia artaxerxes (Fabricius, 1793) (fam. Lycaenidae) This species has been considered an exclusively Alpine species in Slovenia in the past (Carnelutti 1992). However, the surveys carried out in the last few decades have confirmed its much wider distribution including the Dinaric Mts in the south and even the sub-Pannonian region in the north east (Verovnik et al. 2012). It is, however, sparsely recorded from Central Slovenia with notable concentrations of records southwest of Mt Kum in northern Posavje (Verovnik, pers. obs.) and on the Sava River gravels north of Ljubljana (Verovnik, pers. obs.). We found the species at eight new localities from different parts of the surveyed areas, indicating its wider distribution in the region (Fig. 2). It is linked to unfertilized, flower-rich, dry, calcareous grasslands with abundance of sunrose (Helianthemum sp.), a likely hostplant of the species. Such grasslands are becoming increasingly rare and fragmented in Slovenia, and the species should therefore be considered threatened in lowlands, including the studied region. Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 21 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Phengaris arion (Linnaeus, 1758) (fam. Lycaenidae) This emblematic species is one of the most threatened butterflies in Europe (van Swaay et al. 2010) and is considered vulnerable in Slovenia (Ur. l. RS 2002). From the studied region it is only known from a historical record from Trebnje but was/is also present in the neighbouring regions to the north in the Posavje and Zasavje regions (Verovnik et al. 2012). We recorded the species at 10 localities, mostly in the northern part of the surveyed region (Fig. 2). This is somewhat surprising given the past survey efforts, however, most of the previous surveys of Natura 2000 species were done in late spring/early summer, thus outside the main flight period of the species (Verovnik et al. 2012). In the surveyed region P. arion utilizes different types of dry grasslands, also in the early stages of abandonment and overgrowing, and is highly sensitive to excessive fertilization and multiple mowing regimes (Van Swaay et al 2012). Abandonment of mowing on steep south-facing slopes is possibly the main feature of most of the localities populated by the species in the region, therefore some sort of management will be required in the near future to sustain the existing habitat network. Melitaea diamina (Lang, 1798) (fam. Nymphalidae) This is a predominantly humid grassland species, although found also in dry, calcareous grasslands in western Slovenia (Verovnik et al. 2012). The species is listed as vulnerable in Slovenia (Ur. l. RS 2002) due to decline in suitable habitat, in particularly humid meadows and mires, which have mostly been turned into intensive grasslands with drainage, seeding and fertilization. The same trend is evident in the studied region where the species was found at several localities in the northern part during surveys at the beginning of the century (Verovnik et al. 2012). Many of these localities were revisited during our field work, but only a single population was reconfirmed in a small valley north of Ivančna Gorica at Potok settlement. Targeted surveys during first generation maximum might confirm a survivor of some additional populations, but in general, the humid grasslands deteriorated most severely in the studied region over the last two decades. They may still provide suitable habitat for some less sensitive hygrophilous specialist such as Brenthis ino, L. dispar and L. hippothoe, which are still widespread in the region, but further intensification could eliminate these species as well. Hipparchia fagi (Scopoli, 1763) (fam. Nymphalidae) This is a typical thermophilous shrubland and woodland species with sparse records from central Slovenia (Verovnik et al. 2012). From the studied region it was historically known only from Šentlovrenc near Trebnje (collection in the Slovenian Museum of Natural History). We recorded the species commonly on Moravška Gora above Gabrovka town along woodland edges, as well as in orchards and vineyards. Elsewhere, only single specimens were observed at Primskovo, which is quite near the historical record, on southern slopes of Mt Lisec, and north of Valična vas in a complex of dry grasslands. These new finds are likely a result of recent late summer surveys that were absent in the past, as the species is known from neighbouring regions (Verovnik et al. 2012), being particularly widespread in the Haloze region further northeast (Verovnik 2003). 22 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Carcharodus alceae (Esper, 1780) (Hesperiidae) Despite utilizing severely modified ruderal habitats including urban areas and intensive farmlands, the species is surprisingly rare in Central Slovenia, its strongholds being the sub- Pannonian eastern part of the country and the Primorska region in the west (Verovnik et al. 2012). In the studied region it was recorded only from a single locality near Gabrovka (Verovnik, pers. obs.), so addition of six new localities is significant. These are mainly concentrated in southern and eastern parts of the region (Fig. 2). It has been found in different habitats including a ruderal area near Valična vas in the south. Figure 2. Distribution of Leptidea morsei, Hipparchia fagi, Cacyreus marshalli, Melitaea diamina, Carcharodus alceae, Phengaris arion and Aricia artaxerxes in the surveyed area of the southwestern Posavsko hills and northern Suha krajina. Numbers refer to localities listed in Tab. 1. The position of the surveyed area within the country is shown with a grey square in the upper right corner. Slika 2. Razširjenost vrst Leptidea morsei, Hipparchia fagi, Cacyreus marshalli, Melitaea diamina, Carcharodus alceae, Phengaris arion in Aricia artaxerxes na območju jugozahodnega Posavskega hribovja in severne Suhe krajine. Številke označujejo lokacije, ki so navedene v Tab. 1. Položaj raziskovanega območja znotraj države je prikazan s črnim/sivim kvadratom zgoraj desno. Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER 23 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Concluding remarks Several additional rare or rarely observed species include those with more sparsely seen adults such as Thecla betulae, Favonious quercus, Satyrium ilicis, Satyrium acaciae, Satyrium w-album, and thermophilous species Scolitantides orion, Pseudophilotes vicrama, P. thersites, Limenitis reducta, and Melitaea trivia. Also noteworthy is the widespread occurrence of Aphantopus hyperantus and Heteropterus morpheus, both being only rarely recorded in the region in the past, as well as the observation of B. hecate on five localities, despite being thought to have almost disappeared from Central Slovenia (Verovnik et al. 2012). Leptotes pirithous, a known migratory species, has been observed once during the surveys. Given the long list of butterfly species, the abundance of records of species of conservation concern, as well as local hot spots of butterfly diversity, the central Slovenia or, to be more precise, the southwestern Posavsko hills and northern Suha krajina, is grossly underrepresented within Natura 2000 network of Slovenia, or any other form of legally protected area. As this is unlikely to change, local initiatives are needed to preserve the most important localities, which would provide core areas for threatened species to survive. Although flower-rich, dry, calcareous grasslands still abound, in particular around Gabrovka and just north of the Krka Valley, both abandonment with overgrowing as well as intensification through pasturing and fertilisation in these areas are evident. These processes will inevitably lead to the decline of habitat specialist butterfly species that we were still able to record during our surveys. The situation is even worse for humid grasslands, as only small fragments are left, scattered mostly along small tributaries of major streams. Whether these are sufficient for maintaining local populations of threatened species remains to be studied through additional surveys. Land owners and local communities should be targeted to ensure maintaining or even enlarging the existing humid grassland areas, while the preservation of such habitats should be one of the ecological priorities of the country. Povzetek V članku predstavljamo popise dnevnih metuljev na območju centralne Slovenije (jugozahodni del Posavskega hribovja in severni del Suhe krajine), ki so potekali med letoma 2014 in 2022. Območje je bilo izbrano zaradi majhnega števila predhodnih terenskih podatkov, kjer znaten delež zajemajo pomembnejše najdbe pred letom 1990 (Verovnik et al. 2012). Metulje smo lovili z metuljnico in jih določevali na terenu s pomočjo ustrezne literature (Tolman & Lewington 2008). Posamezne lokacije vzorčenja smo izbrali na podlagi ohranjenosti habitatov, dostopnosti in predhodnih raziskav (Verovnik et al. 2012; Čelik 2013). Na izbranem območju nam je v tem času uspelo zabeležiti 105 vrst metuljev, kar pomeni 60 % vseh najdenih vrst v Sloveniji (Verovnik et al. 2012). Večina vrst je bila najdena na vsaj treh lokacijah, medtem ko je bilo devet vrst najdenih na dveh in osem vrst na eni sami lokaciji. Vrste, ki smo jih našli na vsaj polovici lokacij, lahko štejemo med pogoste, med njimi pa so: Colias crocea, Gonepteryx rhamni, Pieris rapae, Leptidea sinapis/juvernica, Polyommatus icarus, Coenonympha pamphilus, Maniola jurtina, Melanargia galathea, in Ochlodes sylvanus. Te vrste so sicer pogoste tudi drugod v osrednji Sloveniji (Verovnik et al. 2012). Med najdenimi vrstami je bilo 22 takih, ki so vključene na rdeči seznam metuljev Slovenije (Ur. l. RS 2002), 15 takih, ki so vključene na seznam ogroženih metuljev v Evropi (Van Swaay et al. 2010), osem, ki so vključene v Uredbo o zavarovanih prosto živečih živalskih vrstah (Ur. l. RS 2004b), in pet takih, ki so vključene v Direktivo o ohranjanju naravnih habitatov ter prosto živečih živalskih in rastlinskih vrst (OJ EC 1992) (Tab. 3). 24 Luka ŠTURM et al.: Contribution to the knowledge of the butterfly fauna of Central Slovenia / SCIENTIFIC PAPER NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 5-25 Največ vrst smo našli na lokacijah Moravška Gora, Žužemberk, Brezovo in Vrh pri Križu ter na lokaciji Vrhovo pri Žužemberku (Tab. 1). Lokaciji Brezovo in Moravška Gora sta blizu druga drugi na severnem delu območja, lokacije Vrh pri Križu, Vrhovo pri Žužemberku in Žužemberk pa ležijo na južnem robu območja prav tako blizu druga drugi. Med popisi nismo zabeležili osmih vrst, ki so bile predhodno na območju že najdene, smo pa nekaj vrst na območju zabeležili prvič (npr. Cacyreus marshalli in Leptotes pirithous). Za območje so precej pomembne tudi najdbe vrst Leptidea morsei, Hipparchia fagi, Cacyreus marshalli in Melitaea diaminater še posebej vrste Phengaris arion, Carcharodus alcea in Aricia artaxerxes, ki smo jih našli na vsaj sedmih lokacijah (Sl. 2). Območje je glede na število najdenih vrst med najbolj pestrimi v Sloveniji, a ga podobno kot drugje v državi ogrožata zaraščanje ekstenzivnih travnikov in intenzivno pašništvo predvsem na suhih travnikih. Najbolj ogrožene so vrste, vezane na vlažne travnike, ki se fragmentirano pojavljajo le še ob manjših potokih v stranskih dolinah. Ker je celotno območje izredno slabo pokrito z območji, vključenimi v Natura 2000 (Ur. l. RS 2004a), velikemu številu bolj specializiranih vrst grozi izumrtje. Če želimo ohraniti pestrost tega dela države, bo zato treba opravljati tarčno usmerjene popise izbranih lokacij, predvsem pa k ohranjanju določenih habitatov (npr. vlažnih travnikov) spodbujati lokalno prebivalstvo in državo. Zahvala The authors would like to thank the other participants of the butterfly group during the Raziskovalni tabor študentov biologije (RTŠB) 2019 in Ivančna Gorica, specifically Elena Pazhenkova, Domen Kocjan and Lucija Fon Mervič, as well as the Biology Student’s Society from Slovenia, which were the camp organizers. Part of the fieldwork by RV was funded through butterfly monitoring projects (JN000486/2019-W01, JN000385/2021-B01) by Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food. The permission for disturbing and catching the butterflies was previously obtained from the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO), number 35601-41/2018-4 (A. Peternel, L. Šturm, J. Zaman) and number 35601-56/2016-2 (R. Verovnik). References [ARSO] Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje, Ministrstvo za okolje, podnebje in energijo, Republika Slovenija. 2022. Podnebne značilnosti oktobra 2022. [accessed 26. 11. 2022] https://meteo.arso.gov.si/met/sl/climate/current/climate_month/ Carnelutti J. 1992. 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Perko D. 1998. The regionalization of Slovenia (Regionalizacija slovenije). Acta geographica Slovenica. 38: 11-57. Tolman T, Lewington R. 2008. Collins butterfly guide. The most complete guide to the butterflies of Britain and Europe. London (GB): HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Ur. l. RS. 2002. Pravilnik o uvrstitvi ogroženih rastlinskih in živalskih vrst v rdeči seznam. Uradni list RS, št. 82(02), 42(10). p. 1-6. Ur. l. RS. 2004a. Uredba o posebnih varstvenih območjih (območjih Natura 2000). Uradni list RS, št. 49/04, 110/04, 59/07, 43/08, 8/12, 33/13, 35/13 – popr., 39/13 – odl. US, 3/14, 21/16 in 47/18. p. 1-15 Ur. l. RS. 2004b. Uredba o zavarovanih prosto živečih živalskih vrstah. Uradni list RS, št. 46/04, 109/04, 84/05, 115/07, 32/08 – odl. US, 96/08, 36/09, 102/11, 15/14, 64/16 in 62/19. p. 1-20. Van Swaay C, Cuttelod A, Collins S, Maes D, López Munguira M, Šašić M, Settele J, Verovnik R, Verstrael T, Warren M, Wiemers M, Wynhof I. 2010. European Red List of Butterflies. Luxembourg (LU): Publications Office of the European Union. Van Swaay C, Collins S, Dušej G, Maes D, Munguira ML, Rakosy L, Ryrholm N, Šašić M, Settele J, Verovnik R, Verstrael T, Warren M, Wiemers M, Wynhoff I. 2012. Dos and Don'ts for butterflies of the Habitats directive of the European Union. Nature Conservation. 1: 73-153. doi: 10.3897/natureconservation.1.2786 Verovnik R. 2000. Distribution of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) at Goričko, northeast Slovenia. Natura Sloveniae. 2(1): 41-59. Verovnik R. 2003. The distribution of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) in Haloze, East Slovenia. Natura Sloveniae. 5(2): 31-46. Verovnik R. 2019. Prenovljeni seznam dnevnih metuljev (Lepidoptera, Papilionidea) Slovenije. Acta Entomologica Slovenica. 27(1): 5-15. Verovnik R, Polak S, Seljak G. 2011. On the presence and expansion of an allochthonous butterfly species in Slovenia - the Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli (Butler, 1898)). Acta Entomologica Slovenica. 19(1): 5-16. Verovnik R, Rebeušek F, Jež M. 2012. Atlas dnevnih metuljev (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) Slovenije, Atlas of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) of Slovenia. Miklavž na Dravskem polju (SI): Center za kartografijo favne in flore. Vrtačnik G, Bertalanič R. 2017. Podnebna spremenljivost Slovenije v obdobju 1961-2011, 3, Značilnosti podnebja v Sloveniji. Ljubljana (SI): Ministrstvo za okolje in prostor, Agencija RS za okolje. © 2023 Luka Šturm et al. To je prostodostopen članek, objavljen pod določili licence Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna, ki dovoljuje neomejeno rabo, razširjanje in kopiranje v kakršnemkoli mediju ter obliki, pod pogojem, da sta navedena avtor in vir. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 Prejeto / Received: 16. 6. 2023 SHORT COMMUNICATION Sprejeto / Accepted: 25. 6. 2023 DOI: 10.14720/ns.25.1.27-35 Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2023 First confirmation of variegated molehopper Xya variegata (Latreille, 1809) (Orthoptera: Tridactylidae) occuring in Slovenia Matjaž BEDJANIČ National Institute of Biology, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija; E-mail: matjaz.bedjanic@nib.si Abstract. The occurrence of the variegated molehopper Xya variegata in Slovenia is confirmed unambiguously for the first time, based on observations of adults and larvae on 24. 3. 2023 and 2. 6. 2023 on the banks of a gravel pit along the Mura River, east of Petišovci in the Prekmurje region, northeastern Slovenia. Thus, the previously doubtful inclusion of the species in the checklist of Slovenian Orthoptera is now justified. Further research is needed to improve knowledge of its distribution and biology. A detailed assessment of the threat status and planning of conservation measures for this threatened and ecologically highly specialised grasshopper species should also be carried out. Key words: grasshoppers, Caelifera, Xya, distribution, threat status, Slovenia Izvleček. Prva potrditev pojavljanja pisane krtovke Xya variegata (Latreille, 1809) (Orthoptera: Tridactylidae) v Sloveniji – Pojavljanje pisane krtovke Xya variegata v Sloveniji je bilo prvič nedvoumno potrjeno z opazovanjem odraslih osebkov in ličink dne 24. 3. 2023 in 2. 6. 2023 na obrežju gramoznice ob reki Muri, vzhodno od Petišovcev v Prekmurju, severovzhodna Slovenija. S tem je doslej dvomljiva uvrstitev vrste na seznam kobilic Slovenije upravičena. Za izboljšanje znanja o razširjenosti in biologiji vrste so potrebne nadaljnje raziskave, tako kot tudi ocena stopnje ogroženosti in načrtovanje ohranitvenih ukrepov za to ogroženo, ekološko zelo specializirano vrsto kobilic. Ključne besede: kobilice, kratkotipalčnice, Xya, razširjenost, ogroženost, Slovenija Introduction The genus Xya is represented in Central Europe by two species, viz. Pfaendler’s molehopper X. pfaendleri (Harz, 1970) and colourful molehopper X. variegata (Latreille, 1809). Both are only a few millimetres in size, their colouration is dark brown to black, with varying pattern of light markings. With their very peculiar appearance, they somewhat resemble tiny mole crickets. They are ecologically highly specialised grasshopper species with modified forelegs for digging typical small sand galleries and tunnels on the banks of various types of standing waters and rivers. With some experience, the colourful molehopper is rather easily distinguished from its 28 Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper occuring in Slovenia / SHORT COMMUNICATION NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 congener by a different pattern and more pronounced whitish markings on the thorax, terga, and legs. The lateral lobes of the pronotum have a characteristic wide whitish margin ventrally, whereas in Pfaendler’s molehopper the pronotum is uniformly black with a coppery sheen and a very small light pronotum marking usually restricted to its posterior ventrolateral margin only (Zechner 2017a, 2017b; Bellmann et al. 2019; Iorio et al. 2019). While Pfaendler’s molehopper is more common in Slovenia and is currently known from nearly 40 localities in the northeastern and southeastern parts of the country (M. Bedjanič, unpubl.), the occurrence of the colourful molehopper in Slovenia has been considered dubious and has not been unambiguously confirmed so far (e.g. Gomboc et al. 2000, 2006). The presence of the species in western Slovenia, without concrete faunistic data or specimens in collections, was indicated in the monograph Fauna of Orthopteroidea in Slovenia by Us (1992) as »… In Slovenia they are in Primorska region«. It is important to note that the manuscript for the mentioned monograph was submitted just before the author’s death in 1976 and was published posthumously a decade and a half later (Us 1992). In his brief description of the species under the old name Tridactylus variegatus, the characters of both mentioned Xya species can be recognized, so it is likely that the description of X. pfaendleri by K. Harz in 1970 (Harz 1970) was not known to the author at the time the manuscript was being prepared. Based on the general statement mentioning the occurrence of the colourful molehopper in the Primorska region (Us 1992), it was included in the first Red List of endangered Orthopteroidea in Slovenia as »Insufficiently known« (Matvejev 1992). The statement by Us (1992) was repeated in Gomboc (2003), and subsequently the species was also included in the checklist of Orthoptera in Slovenia (Gomboc & Šegula 2014). However, in the recent comprehensive reviews of the grasshopper fauna of e.g. Vipavska dolina and Slovenian Istria in western Slovenia, the colourful molehopper was not listed (Gomboc 2013, 2019), with searches in other parts of Slovenia in the past not yielding any results either. Material and methods With the specific aim of studying the distribution and phenology of Xya grasshoppers, I visited some gravel pits in the Prekmurje region in spring 2023, including the Lakoš gravel pit (WGS84 Lat./Long.: 46.532140 °N, 16.418997 °E; alt. 162 m) along the Mura River, 1.6 km east of Petišovci, very close to the Croatian border. The gravel pit covers about 14.7 ha, it is filled with groundwater and has been abandoned a few years ago after the cessation of commercial gravel extraction that had started app. two decades ago. In its northern and northeastern portions, the banks are sparsely vegetated, with extensive areas of bare sandy and gravelly ground and southern exposure, providing an ideal habitat for molehoppers (Fig. 1). Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper occuring in Slovenia / SHORT COMMUNICATION 29 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 Figure 1. Lakoš gravel pit along the Mura River near Petišovci in Prekmurje region, where the variegated molehopper Xya variegata was observed in late March and early June 2023: (a) 24. 3. 2023, (b) 2. 6. 2023 (photo: M. Bedjanič). Slika 1. Gramoznica Lakoš ob reki Muri v bližini Petišovcev v Prekmurju, kjer je bila pisana krtovka Xya variegata opazovana konec marca in v začetku junija 2023: (a) 24. 3. 2023, (b) 2. 6. 2023 (foto: M. Bedjanič). a b 30 Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper occuring in Slovenia / SHORT COMMUNICATION NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 The locality was visited twice, on the afternoon of 24. 3. 2023 when the weather was partly cloudy with a pleasant temperature of 23 °C, and on 2. 6. 2023 in the afternoon when it was mostly sunny and windy, at 25 °C. On both occasions, the northeastern banks of the gravel pit were examined for molehoppers by careful visual inspection of suitable patches, aided by Pentax Papilio II binoculars (8.5 × 21, macro focusing distance 50 cm). Results and discussion The targeted survey for the presence of Xya grasshoppers at Lakoš gravel pit on 24. 3. 2023 soon revealed signs of molehoppers’ presence in the form of typical small sand galleries. Only a moment later, to the great surprise and excitement of the observer, the first individual of X. variegata was sighted and photographed. Syntopically, X. pfaendleri was also observed. In total, I observed 5 adult individuals and 5 larvae of the colourful molehopper and 30 adult individuals and 20 larvae of Pfaendler’s molehopper. I revisited the Lakoš gravel pit on 2. 6. 2023. Colonies of both X. variegata and X. pfaendleri were sighted in the northeastern part of the gravel pit. Individuals of both species, larvae and adults, shared the same patches of suitable habitat, with no apparent interactions or aggression (Figs. 2, 3). Figure 2. Variegated molehopper Xya variegata – adult individual at Lakoš gravel pit near Petišovci, on 2. 6. 2023 (photo: M. Bedjanič). Slika 2. Pisana krtovka Xya variegata – odrasel osebek pri gramoznici Lakoš v bližini Petišovcev, dne 2. 6. 2023 (foto: M. Bedjanič). Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper occuring in Slovenia / SHORT COMMUNICATION 31 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 Figure 3. Syntopic occurrence of variegated molehopper Xya variegata and Pfaendler’s molehopper X. pfaendleri at Lakoš gravel pit near Petišovci on 2. 6. 2023 - larva of X. variegata (left) and two adult individuals of X. pfaendleri (right) (photo: M. Bedjanič). Slika 3. Sintopično pojavljanje pisane krtovke Xya variegata in pritlikave krtovke X. pfaendleri v gramoznici Lakoš v bližini Petišovcev dne 2. 6. 2023 – ličinka Xya variegata (levo) in dva odrasla osebka X. pfaendleri (desno) (foto: M. Bedjanič). In total, I observed between 50 and 100 adult individuals and larvae of the colourful molehopper, as well as 50–100 adult individuals and larvae of Pfaendler’s molehopper. Of the other orthopterans, a few undetermined Tetrigidae individuals and numerous larvae and adults of the marsh cricket Pteronemobius heydenii (Fischer, 1853) were recorded. For X. variegata, these are the first confirmed faunistic records from Slovenia (Fig. 4). Thus, the previously doubtful inclusion of the species in the checklist of Slovenian Orthoptera is now justified. Based on the known European range of the colourful molehopper (Harz 1975; Hochkirch et al. 2016a; Bellmann et al. 2019; Iorio et al. 2019), its occurrence in Slovenia was expected. The new records from northeastern Slovenia are not extremely surprising, as the species has already been recorded in neighbouring countries on the eastern outskirts of the Pannonian Lowlands. In Austria, X. variegata was found for the first time at around the turn of the millennium (Berg et al. 2000). Since then, supplementary records have been added. The species is largely restricted to the Austrian Pannonian region, with two additional isolated sites in the Lafnitz River valley in Styria and Southern Burgenland (Russ 2006; Zechner 2017b). According to Skejo et al. (2018), it is known with certainty in Croatia from two localities in Hrvatsko Zagorje. Scattered old records from the former Yugoslavia and the Balkan Peninsula (e.g. Us 1938, 1964; Us & Matvejev 1967) should be revised, as Pfaendler's molehopper, which occurs in eastern and southeastern Europe and further to the east, was described only in 1970 (Harz 1970). Additionally, in parts of eastern and southeastern Europe, both species are sympatric and occasionally syntopic (e.g. Harz 1975; Berg et al. 2000; Russ 2006; Zechner 2017b). Records from Slovenia (Gomboc et al. 2000; M. Bedjanič, unpubl.) and elsewhere (e.g. Harz 1970, 1975; Pavićević at al. 2014; Zehner et al. 2017a; Ivković et al. 2018; Puskás et al. 2018; Ćato & Zagorac 2021) suggest that Pfaendler's molehopper is the more common of the two species in the lowlands of the wider Pannonian region. 32 Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper occuring in Slovenia / SHORT COMMUNICATION NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 Figure 4. Distribution map of variegated molehopper Xya variegata in Slovenia, with white circles indicating the localities visited by the author between September 2021 and June 2023, at which the species was not recorded despite the targeted search. Slika 4. Zemljevid razširjenosti pisane krtovke Xya variegata v Sloveniji. Beli krožci ponazarjajo lokalitete, ki jih je avtor obiskal med septembrom 2021 in junijem 2023 in kjer vrsta kljub ciljnemu iskanju ni bila zabeležena. Due to its wide distribution from North Africa and Mediterranean Europe to South-East Asia and locally abundant occurrences in some parts of southern Europe, the colourful molehopper is listed as a Least Concern (LC) species in the European Red List of Grasshoppers, Crickets and Bush-crickets (Hochkirch et al. 2016b). However, regional differences and generally decreasing population trend are noted (Hochkirch et al. 2016a). For example, it is Extinct (EX) in Switzerland (Hochkirch 2016a), in the whole of Austria it is considered Data Deficient (DD) (Zechner 2017b), while in Styria it has recently been assessed as a Critically Endangered (CR) species (Zechner et al. 2021). Hitherto the only known locality of X. variegata in Slovenia is located within the Natura 2000 site Mura (SI3000215) and the transboundary Mura-Drava-Danube UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, so at least formally some degree of the species’ habitat protection and appropriate management should be ensured. However, due to the lack of the formal legal status of this tiny grasshopper species as highly threatened regionally and in Slovenia, conservation efforts confronting potential threats may prove to be difficult. Although further targeted fieldwork and research is needed for a detailed assessment of its threat status and planning of conservation measures, it is certain that X. variegata will be listed among endangered species in a badly needed update of the Red List of Threatened Animal Species in Slovenia. Matjaž BEDJANIČ: First confirmation of variegated molehopper occuring in Slovenia / SHORT COMMUNICATION 33 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 27-35 Acknowledgements Ali Šalamun kindly helped with the distribution map. Thanks are also due to reviewers for constructive suggestions. Preparation of the article was funded by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency through the research core programme No. P1-0255. References Bellmann H, Rutschmann F, Roesti C, Hochkirch A. 2019. Der Kosmos Heuschrecken-führer: Die Heuschrecken Mitteleuropas und die wichtigsten Arten Südosteuropas. Stuttgart (DE): Franckh- Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG. Berg HM, Gross H, Paill W. 2000. 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Pojoče kobilice Slovenije: priročnik za določanje pojočih vrst kobilic po napevih in slikah / Singing Orthoptera of Slovenia: manual for identification of singing Orthoptera based on songs and images. Ljubljana (SI): EGEA (European Geography Association), Zavod za naravo. Gomboc S, Bedjanič M, Šegula B. 2006. Pregled dosedanje raziskanosti kobilic v Sloveniji (Insecta, Orthoptera). In: Prešern J, editor. 1. Slovenski entomološki simpozij, Knjiga povzetkov, 4. in 5. november 2006. Ljubljana (SI): Slovensko entomološko društvo Štefana Michielija in Prirodoslovni muzej Slovenije. p. 18. Gomboc S, Zechner L, Bedjanič M. 2000. Xya pfaendleri (Harz, 1970) auch in Slowenien (Orthoptera, Tridactylidae). Acta Entomologica Slovenica. 8(2): 129-136. Harz K. 1970. Orthopterologische Beiträge VIII. Tridactylus pfaendleri nov. spec. Nachrichtenblatt der Bayerischen Entomologen. 19: 56-59. Harz K. 1975. Die Orthopteren Europas II. The Orthoptera of Europe II. In: Series Entomologica. Vol. 11. 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To je prostodostopen članek, objavljen pod določili licence Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna, ki dovoljuje neomejeno rabo, razširjanje in kopiranje v kakršnemkoli mediju ter obliki, pod pogojem, da sta navedena avtor in vir. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 Prejeto / Received: 16. 6. 2023 SHORT COMMUNICATION Sprejeto / Accepted: 25. 6. 2023 DOI: 10.14720/ns.25.1.37-45 Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2023 Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna (Insecta: Lepidoptera) of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia Toni KOREN 1* , Dejan KULIJER 2 1 Association Hyla, Lipovac I no. 7, HR-10000 Zagreb, Croatia; E-mail: toni.koren@hhdhyla.hr 2 National museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zmaja od Bosne 3, 71000 Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; E-mail: dejan.kulijer@gmail.com *Corresponding author Abstract. Additions to the moth fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia are given. We report on first observations of five species and on reconfirmation of one species after eight decades. In Croatia, we recorded the species Eublemma cochylioides (Guenée, 1852) for the first time, while Eublemma himmighoffeni (Millière, 1867) has been confirmed in the country after 85 years. We report on the first observation of five moth species for Bosnia and Herzegovina: Triodia adriaticus (Osthelder, 1931), Eumera regina Staudinger, 1892, Dryobotodes monochroma (Esper, 1790), Lithophane lapidea (Hübner, [1808]) and Nycteola columbana (Turner, 1925). Even though these records could be expected due to species general distributions, they fill the knowledge of moth diversity of both countries and the wider region. Key words: Hepialidae, Geometridae, Erebidae, Nolidae, Noctuidae, distribution, diversity Izvleček. Prispevek k favni nočnih metuljev (Insecta: Lepidoptera) Bosne in Hercegovine in Hrvaške – V prispevku podajamo nove podatke o nočnih metuljih v Bosni in Hercegovini ter na Hrvaškem, s prvimi opažanji petih vrst in ponovno potrditvijo ene vrste po več kot osem desetletjih. Na Hrvaškem smo prvič zabeležili vrsto Eublemma cochylioides (Guenée, 1852), medtem ko je bila Eublemma himmighoffeni (Millière, 1867) ponovno najdena po 85 letih. V Bosni in Hercegovini smo našli pet novih vrst za državo: Triodia adriaticus (Osthelder, 1931), Eumera regina Staudinger, 1892, Dryobotodes monochroma (Esper, 1790), Lithophane lapidea (Hübner, [1808]) in Nycteola columbana (Turner, 1925). Čeprav je bilo te vrste mogoče pričakovati glede na njihovo splošno razširjenost, naši podatki dopolnjujejo poznavanje raznolikosti nočnih metuljev v obeh državah in v regiji. Ključne besede: Hepialidae, Geometridae, Erebidae, Nolidae, Noctuidae, razširjenost, raznovrstnost Introduction In the beginning of the 20 th century, an impressive work was published that covered the previously unknown moth fauna of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Rebel 1904a) and which today serves as a landmark for all who research the butterfly and moth fauna of the country. Afterwards, only a few papers dealing with the moths of Bosnia and Herzegovina were published 38 Toni KOREN & Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna ... / SHORT COMMUNICATION NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 (Schawerda 1918; Stauder 1925, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1933), most of which have been consolidated in the revision of the list (Lelo 2004). Still, in comparison with the neighbouring countries, the moth diversity of Bosnia and Herzegovina is far from sufficient (Plant & Jakšić 2018) and records of additional species of almost all moth families are expected. In Croatia the moth fauna, especially Macroheterocera, has been studied in greater detail, and for the larger families published and unpublished checklists exist (Kučinić 1997; Koren 2012; Mihoci 2012; Gumhalter 2019) rending it easier to put any records in the comparative perspective. During the recent years, several new and/or interesting moth species have been recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Hanjalić & Lelo 2015; Koren & Kulijer 2020; Koren & Martinović 2020; Beshkov & Nahirnić-Beshkova 2021; Koren et al. 2021, 2022a), as well as in Croatia (Mrnjavčić Vojvoda et al. 2014; Koren & Gomboc 2015; Koren & Kulijer 2020). In this work the records of additional six species are presented, five new to Bosnia and Herzegovina and one new to the fauna of Croatia, with one reconfirmation of the species after over eight decades. Materials and methods This report covers our observations from the 2020–2022 period in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia (Tab. 1). The study in Bosnia and Herzegovina was mainly conducted on the Klek peninsula and the nearby mainland, while the study in Croatia was conducted within the Klek settlement and the mainland south of the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Two main light-trapping methods were used. The main method applied was the pyramid- shaped collecting tent comprising a metal frame and two 15W UV lamps (604 mm) connected to a 12 V battery and covered with a white canvas. Six traps were used, distanced about ten meters apart. The second method implied the usage of two 6W 12V portable heath moth traps with actinic UV-A lamps (350–400 nm) which were set in the dusk and left on site and collected the following morning. Three portable heath moth traps were used per locality and night. In addition, in Klek settlement, Croatia, a 100W mercury light bulb put on a terrace was used to attract moths. The android application and digital platform Biologer were used to record field data during this research (Popović et al. 2020). The specimens were identified and are stored in the collection of T. Koren. For each record, the exact locality, coordinates, altitude, and dates are provided. Toni KOREN & Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna ... / SHORT COMMUNICATION 39 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 Table 1. The list of localities with methods used and new records of moth species in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. Abbreviations: DK – Dejan Kuljer, TK – Toni Koren. Coordinates are in WGS84 decimal degrees. Tabela 1. Seznam lokalitet z uporabljenimi metodami in novimi podatki za nočne metulje Bosne in Hercegovine in Hrvaške. Okrajšave: DK – Dejan Kuljer, TK – Toni Koren. Koordinate so v WGS84 decimalnih stopinjah. No. Location Method Date (Observer) Species 1 House at Opuće settlement, Neum, BIH; 42.927186° N, 17.572877° E, 40 m a.s.l. portable heath moth traps 1.10.2021 (DK) Triodia adriaticus 2 Opuće settlement, northern part, Neum, BIH; 42.928529° N, 17.572879° E, 35 m a.s.l. portable heath moth traps 16.10.2021 (DK) 19.10.2021 (DK) Dryobotodes monochroma Lithophane lapidea 3 Konštar locality, Neum city, BIH; 42.930888° N, 17.658310° E, 175 m a.s.l. portable heath moth traps 14.9.2020 (DK) Eumera regina Nycteola columbana 4 Gradina locality, Neum city, BIH; 42.932013° N, 17.684761° E, 200 m a.s.l. portable heath moth traps 16.9.2020 (DK) Eumera regina 5 Klek settlement, CRO; 42.946881° N, 17.56341° E, 81 m a.s.l. mercury light bulb 9.10.2022 (DK) Eublemma cochylioides 6 Slopes on the eastern side of the bay, grasslands, and overgrown agricultural land, Zaton, Dubrovnik, CRO; 42.696625° N, 18.048319° E, 55 m a.s.l. pyramid-shaped tents 27.5.2021 (TK) Eublemma himmighoffeni Results and discussion In total, the records of seven moth species are presented, five being recorded for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one in Croatia and one rediscovered in Croatia after 85 years. The species were registered at six different localities (Fig. 1). The species Triodia adriaticus (Osthelder, 1931) (fam. Hepialidae) was found for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Opuće settlement (Loc. 1; Tab. 1, Fig. 1). This species inhabits parts of south-eastern Europe, from Istria in Croatia, across the Adriatic coastline to Macedonia, Albania (Beshkov 1994), Ionian Sea coast, Korfu and Peloponnesus in Greece (de Freina and Witt 1990). This species is usually numerous in favourable habitats and can be attracted to light sources in high numbers. No previous records of this species exist for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its occurrence was expected due to the probably continuous distribution along the Adriatic coastline (Koren 2020). The species Eumera regina Staudinger, 1892 (fam. Geometridae) was found for the first time for Bosnia and Herzegovina, at two different localities, Konštar (Loc. 3; Tab. 1, Fig. 1) and Gradina (Loc. 4; Tab. 1, Fig. 1). This is a unique and striking Geometridae moth that cannot be confused with any other species due to the forewing terminal area being yellowish pink with two white dots (Fig. 2a) (Skou & Sihvonen 2015). Within Europe, the distribution of this species is restricted to the Balkan Peninsula and ranges from Dalmatia (Croatia) to Greece (Skou & Sihvonen 2015). No previous records of this species exist for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its 40 Toni KOREN & Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna ... / SHORT COMMUNICATION NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 occurrence was expected due to recent records of E. regina in the Neretva River Delta (Koren, unpubl.), just several kilometres west of the localities where the species was found in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was recorded in a habitat typical of this species in the region, karst grasslands surrounded by maquis (Fig. 2b). Figure 1. Distribution of the newly recorded moth species in Bosnia and Herzegovina & Croatia. Slika 1. Razširjenost novo zabeleženih vrst nočnih metuljev v Bosni in Hercegovini in na Hrvaškem. The species Dryobotodes monochroma (Esper, 1790) (fam. Noctuidae) was found for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Rebel 1904a; Lelo 2004), recorded on two different dates at Opuće settlement (Loc. 2; Tab. 1, Fig. 1). This is a Holo-Ponto-Mediterranean species with its northern distribution limit in Central Europe (Ronkay et al. 2001). The map presented in the Noctuidae Europaeae series (Ronkay et al. 2001) is misleading, as it includes the whole Balkan Peninsula and its countries. For Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, this does not hold true. In Croatia, this species is, according to the newly gathered data (Koren, unpubl.) and historical records (Rebel 1912; Schwingenschuss & Wagner 1926; Stauder 1926), present only on the Mediterranean coastline, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina there have been no records of this species so far (Rebel 1904a; Lelo 2004). Thus, the presence of this species in the Mediterranean part of Bosnia and Herzegovina was expected. The identification was confirmed by the examination of male genital structures in order to distinguish it from the very similar Dryobotodes servadeii Parenzan, 1982 (Ronkay et al. 2001). Toni KOREN & Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna ... / SHORT COMMUNICATION 41 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 Figure 2. Photos of three moth species, found in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia: a) Eumera regina from Gradina, b) habitat of E. regina at Gradina, c) Eublemma cochylioides from Klek settlement, d) Eublemma himmighoffeni from Zaton. For the localities, see Tab. 1. Photo: T. Koren (a, d), D. Kulijer (b, c). Slika 2. Fotografije treh vrst nočnih metuljev, najdenih v Bosni in Hercegovini in na Hrvaškem: a) Eumera regina z lokalitete Gradina, b) habitat vrste E. regina na lokaliteti Gradina, c) Eublemma cochylioides iz naselja Klek, d) Eublemma himmighoffeni z lokacije Zaton. Za lokalitete glej Tab. 1. Foto: T. Koren (a, d), D. Kulijer (b, c). The second species of the family Noctuidae, Lithophane lapidea (Hübner, [1808]), was recorded at the second locality near Opuće settlement (Loc. 2; Tab. 1, Fig. 1), which is the first observation for Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is a Ponto-Mediterranean species in Europe occurring in France, northern and central Italy and across the Balkan Peninsula (Ronkay et al. 2001). In neighbouring Croatia, it is a fairly common species along the Adriatic coastline from Istria in the north (Koren 2022) down to the southern part of the country. Thus, the presence in the Mediterranean part of Bosnia and Herzegovina was expected. The species Nycteola columbana (Turner, 1925) (fam. Nolidae) was found at Konštar locality (Loc. 3; Tab. 1, Fig. 1) for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Rebel 1904b; Lelo 2004). This is an Eurasiatic species, distributed in southern parts of Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East (Fibiger et al. 2009). It is very similar to other members of the genus Nycteola and the correct identification was confirmed by examining the genital structures (Fibiger et al. 2009). 42 Toni KOREN & Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna ... / SHORT COMMUNICATION NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 The species Eublemma cochylioides (Guenée, 1852) (fam. Erebidae) (Fig. 2c) was found for the first time in Croatia at Klek settlement (Loc. 5; Tab. 1, Fig. 1). This is a variable species with the forewing colour ranging from yellow to pink. Especially notable are the specimens with the half of the forewing coloured yellow and half pink as is the case with the specimen from Klek (Fig. 2c). This individual was observed and photographed only when reaching a mercury bulb positioned at the external side of the house. Due to the unique appearance, its identification was possible even without catching the individual. The species E. cochylioides is a tropical species with disjunct distribution in Europe, Africa, Middle East to SE Asia, all to Australia (Fibiger et al. 2010). Recently, the spreading of this species has been noted in northern Europe and recorded up to Great Britain (Hatton et al. 2022). This species inhabits open, steppe-like habitats. Adults fly from September to November. Larvae feed on different Asteraceae species (Fibiger et al. 2010). This is not only the first record in Croatia, but also the northernmost record along the Adriatic coast. While the migrating behaviour is known in this species (Hatton et al. 2022), it is possible that it was just overlooked during previous surveys and is indeed native to the area. The second species of the Erebidae family, Eublemma himmighoffeni (Millière, 1867) (Fig. 2d), was found at Zaton in Croatia (Loc. 6; Tab. 1, Fig. 1). This is a small and easily recognizable member of the genus Eublemma due to its forewing colouration. For this species, only one reliable record exists in the literature for Croatia, Gruž (Gravosa) in Dubrovnik city (Schwingenschuss & Wagner 1926). Stauder (1927) mentioned the presence of this species in Dalmatia, but without exact locations. The second record of the species, also from Gruž, is available on the web portal lepiforum.de with the following data: Dalmatia, Gravosa - Zaton, 1.–8.10.1936 H. Fabigan (Lepiforum e.V. 2021). While the new record from Croatia reported herewith is not far from the previously known area of this species around Dubrovnik, it represents the first confirmed record of the species in the country after 85 years. The known flight period of this species is from the end of June till the end of August (Fibiger et al. 2010) and up to mid-September (Beshkov 1994), but our record from Croatia shows that this species is active even earlier, at the end of May. It inhabits dry grassland habitats near the coast (Fibiger et al. 2010), which concurs with our observations (Tab. 1). Conclusions Many species are being recorded in the Mediterranean part of the Bosnia and Herzegovina region, mostly the Neum and Klek peninsula areas. Here, the political border of Croatia is discontinued, with part of the coastline and the sea belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, it is the hotspot for recording Mediterranean species in the country, such as the ones presented in this work, that have not been recorded in the country so far. It is most likely that many of these species are present also within the mainland Herzegovina, as is the case with Mediterranean butterfly species (Lelo 2008; Koren et al. 2019; Koren et al. 2022b), but this should be investigated with additional surveys. Toni KOREN & Dejan KULIJER: Addition to the knowledge on the moth fauna ... / SHORT COMMUNICATION 43 NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 37-45 The Klek Peninsula and the small territory around Neum are the only parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina with characteristic Eumediterranean and maritime habitats and therefore highly valuable for the overall biodiversity of the country. For several true Mediterranean plant species and habitat types, this is the sole area where they occur on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Kutleša & Lakušić 1964; Maslo & Milanović 2022). 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To je prostodostopen članek, objavljen pod določili licence Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva 4.0 Mednarodna, ki dovoljuje neomejeno rabo, razširjanje in kopiranje v kakršnemkoli mediju ter obliki, pod pogojem, da sta navedena avtor in vir. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 47-48 Prejeto / Received: 17. 11. 2022 FIELD NOTE Sprejeto / Accepted: 15. 5. 2023 DOI: 10.14720/ns.25.1.47-48 Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2023 The first record of the Monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814) (Pisces: Gobiidae) in Slovenia Prva opisana najdba rečnega glavoča Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814) (Pisces: Gobiidae) v Sloveniji Luka MRZELJ, Fisheries research institute of Slovenia, Spodnje Gameljne 61a, SI-1211 Ljubljana-Šmartno, Slovenia; E-mail: luka.mrzelj@zzrs.si The first confirmed presence of the Monkey goby fish species, Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814) in Slovenia has been recorded in August 2021. During regular Fisheries Research Institute of Slovenia surveys, nine individuals were caught in Ledava River within Murska šuma near the town Pince (Lat: 46.500556, Lon: 16.531944). Ledava River is lowland watercourse with minimal discharge of 0,145 m 3 /s recorded at Čentiba station in 2003 (ARSO 2022). The Monkey goby species can be distinguished from related species by the length of the first branched ray in the secondary dorsal fin (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). The first branched ray is twice as long as the penultimate ray. In 2022, specimens from Ledava River were also genetically confirmed at the Chair of Genetics, Animal Biotechnology and Immunology at Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana (Sušnik S., pers. comm.). In a 100 m long river transect with an average water depth of 0.7 m and wetted width of 5 m, the specimens were caught using the electrofishing backpack sampling method. Specimens measured from 39 to 65 mm in total length, while it is reported that Monkey goby can reach from 100 mm to 200 mm in length (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007; Placha et al. 2010; Grabowska 2011; Staszny et al. 2022). In the Ledava River, Monkey gobies were found in runs, hidden under stones and rocks, which represented the dominant substrate fraction (60%) of the riverbed. This is rather surprising, as the species is considered to spend most of its time on sandy substrates (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). However, the recent book on invasive animal species in Hungary suggest that monkey gobies actually prefer stony bottoms, and their presence on sandy bottoms is a consequence of competition with sister species (Staszny et al. 2022). Monkey goby lives up to 5 years and it spawns for the first time in the second year (Smirnov 1986; Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). Females can spawn a few times per season. Adhesive eggs are deposited on stones, shells and/or aquatic plants. During the spawning season, from April to July, locally until September, males have a completely black body with yellow fin-margins (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). The male guards the nest aggressively and takes care of the offspring until it hatches (Pinchuk et al. 2003). Gobies are generalists, as well as omnivores and mostly feed on benthic invertebrates (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). Larger specimens can become piscivorous and feed on smaller fish or fish fry. Figure 1. Monkey goby (Neogobius fluviatilis) from Ledava River (photo: L. Mrzelj). Slika 1. Rečni glavoč (Neogobius fluviatilis) iz reke Ledave (foto: L. Mrzelj). 48 Luka MRZELJ: The first record of the Monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1841) in Slovenia / FIELD NOTE NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 47-48 The Monkey goby belongs to the Ponto-Caspian goby group. The initial distribution area of the species is Eastern Europe (Povž 2016); the Black, Azov, Marmara Sea Basins and the Caspian Lake. These goby species have already been recorded in the 90s of the 20th Century spreading across Northern and Western Europe (Povž 2016). The increased expansion range of the species is strongly attributed to a large human contribution. The Ponto-Caspian gobies expansions are accelerated due to watercourse transportation industry and habitat degradation. Gobies can spread over long distances in waterbodies via ship transportation (Anheit et al. 1998). Consequently, some authors describe their range expansion as invasive (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). In 1970, the Monkey goby was introduced into the Lake Balaton in Hungary (Kotelat & Freyhoff 2007). In 2006, Veenvliet and Veenvliet described that the species has dispersed along the Danube River, reaching Croatia. In 2022, the species was recorded in Drava and Mura River systems (Rauch 2022) from where it could successfully reach lower stretches of the Ledava River. Until today, the presence of two Ponto- Caspian goby species was confirmed in Slovenia; the Monkey goby in Ledava River in 2021 and the Bighead goby in Sava River near Obrežje in 2016 (Povž 2016). »Monkey goby« occurrence for Sava River including tributaries Sora, Ljubljanica, Mirna, Krka, Kolpa and Savinja (Simonović et al. 2015) cannot be considered as reliable, since there is no reference or field data, which could confirm the recorded find. Therefore, Ledava River can be considered as the first recorded find of Monkey gobies in Slovenia. Considering Ponto-Caspian gobies expansion trends, we can expect an increase of species finds and records of more specimens in Slovenia in the near future. Acknowledgements I would like to thank dr. Simona Sušnik Bajec for the genetic identification of the species and to all collegues who helped during this survey. References Ahnelt H, Banarescu PM, Spolwind R, Harka Á, Waidbacher H. 1998. 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Age and growth of non-native monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis (Teleostei, Gobiidae) in the River Ipel, Slovakia. Folia Zoologica. 59(4): 332-340. doi: 10.25225/fozo.v59.i4.a10.2010 Povž M. 2016. Glavati kapič (Neogobius kessleri) - riba pritepenka. Ribič. 3: 45. Rauch P. 2022. Fish comunity characterization in the Mura-Drava-Danube Region. Deliverable report for EU-Interreg DTP project »lifelineMDD«; [accessed 4. 4. 2022]. https://www.interreg- danube.eu/uploads/media/approved_project_ou tput/0001/52/677806cafd3dd60262c6605dc345 3599fa64a1ed.pdf Simonović P, Povž M, Piria M, Treer T, Adrović A, Škrijelj R, Nikolić V, Simić V. 2015. Ichthyofauna of the river Sava system. In: Milačič R, Ščančar J, Paunović M, editors. The Sava River, The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry 31. Springer. p. 361-400. doi: 10.1007/978-3-662- 44034-6_14 Staszny A, Weiperth A, Lente V, Ferincz A. 2022. Monkey Goby Neogobius fluviatilis (Pallas, 1814). In: Haraszthy L, editor. Invasive animal species in Hungary. Budapest: Duna-Ipoly National Park Directorate – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary; p. 256-257. Veenvliet P, Veenvliet JK. 2006. Ribe slovenskih celinskih voda, Priročnik za določanje. Grahovo: Zavod Symbiosis. NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 49-50 Prejeto / Received: 20. 2. 2023 FIELD NOTE Sprejeto / Accepted: 11. 4. 2023 DOI: 10.14720/ns.25.1.49-50 Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2023 Confirmation of the alpine salamander Salamandra atra (Laurenti, 1768) on Slovenian side of the Gorjanci Mountains Potrditev planinskega močerada Salamandra atra (Laurenti, 1768) na slovenski strani Gorjancev Primož PRESETNIK, Center za kartografijo favne in flore, Ljubljana Office, Tacenska cesta 20, 1210 Ljubljana-Šentvid, Slovenia; E-mail: primoz.presetnik@ckff.si Maks PETRIČ, Speleoclub Šaleški jamarski klub Podlasica Topolšica Matjaž ČUK, Speleoclub Klub jamarjev Kostanjevica na Krki Milan VOGRIN, Zg. Hajdina 83c, 2288 Hajdina The alpine salamander (Salamandra atra) lives in Slovenia mostly above the forest border. However, it can also be found as low as 500 m a. s. l. (Vek et al. 2019). Observations in the Julian Alps, Karavanke Mountains, Kamniško-Savinjske Alps, Trnovska planota plateau and along Dinaric mountains towards Mt. Snežnik are common (Vek et al. 2019). Therefore, S. atra has Alpine and Dinaric distribution in Slovenia (IUCN 2023, Fig. 1). A seemingly disjunct population of S. atra lives also in the Gorjanci Mountains, situated in Southeastern Slovenia (Vogrin 1997), where one animal was found on 23. 5. 1994 in the virgin beech forest Gorjanci - Trdinov vrh (lat. 45.800600, long. 15.450350, 1050 m a. s. l.) by the last author of this notice. Additionally, there are two sites of the species near the state border on the Croatian side of the Gorjanci Mountains (Croatian name Žumberak Mountains); first in the Tomaševićka pit (870 m a. s. l.; Kletečki 1990) and second in the Kuta virgin forest (800-900 m a. s. l.; Jeran et al. 2011). It seems that the species is rare in that area (Jeran et al. 2011). On 29. 10. 2022, a team of speleologists of the Šaleški jamarski klub Podlasica Topolšica Speloclub accompanied speleologists from the Kostanjevica na Krki Speleoclub during their visit of the Gorjanc Cave (lat. 45.800597, long. 15.450349, 760 m a. s. l., Fig. 1), a several hundred-metre-long and deep Figure 1. Distribution of the alpine salamander (Salamandra atra) in Slovenia and its neighbouring countries and its records in the Gorjanci Mountains. General distribution according to IUCN (2023), Croatian sites in the Gorjanci Mountains according to Jeran et al. (2011). Map was prepared by Ali Šalamun. Slika 1. Razširjenost planinskega močerada (Salamandra atra) v Sloveniji in sosednjih državah ter najdišča na Gorjancih. Splošna razširjenost glede na IUCN (2023), najdišča na hrvaški strani Gorjancev glede na Jeran et al. (2011). Karto je izdelal Ali Šalamun. 50 Primož PRESETNIK et al.: Confirmation of the alpine salamander on Slovenian side of the Gorjanci … / FIELD NOTE NATURA SLOVENIAE 25(1): 49-50 cave, with approximately 1.7 × 2 m wide entrance (Fig. 2a). At a depth of 30 m, on the ledge of the entrance pit, they photographed a salamander, which was later determined as S. atra (Fig. 2b). The Gorjanc Cave is just 750 m afar from the closest site of S. atra in the Kuta virgin forest, 2 km from the Tomaševićka pit and 11 km from the Gorjanci virgin forest (Fig. 1). It is situated at the lowest but still quite similar altitude and in similar environment of a beach forest than the other sites. This indicates a possible S. atra continuous area along the peaks of the Gorjanci Mountains connected with the old- growth beech forests. To the best of our knowledge, the population of S. atra in the Gorjanci Mountains is approximately 60 km East – NorthEast away from the closest sites on Mt. Snežnik (Fig. 1). However, we do not exclude a possibility of additional findings of the species between these two areas, as there are enough higher-altitude beech forests, which may be a suitable habitat for this species. It is interesting to note that the first Croatian observation is also from a cave (Kletečki 1990), and only intense focused research by Jeran et al. (2011) contributed to additional observations. Therefore, we assume that focused surveys could contribute also to further sightings of S. atra also on the Slovenian side of the Gorjanci Mountains. References IUCN 2023. Salamandra atra. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group. Version 2022: e.T19843A89706038; [accessed 29. 1. 2023]. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.20221.RLTS.T19843A8 9706038.en Jeran N, Đurić P, Žganec K. 2011. Finding of the Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra Laurenti, 1768; Salamandridae, Caudata) in the Nature Park Žumberak - Samoborsko gorje (NW Croatia). Hyla. 1: 35-46. Kletečki E. 1990. New finding of the alpine salamander (Salamandra atra Laurenti, 1768; Salamandridae: Caudata) in Croatia. Arhiv bioloških nauka. 42(1-2): p. 5. Vek M, Kirbiš N, Lešnik A, editors. Vek M, Dajčman U, Pekolj A, Zamuda LL, Bolčina A, Osojnik N, Kirbiš N. 2019. Dvoživke in plazilci visokogorja Slovenije (Življenje okoli nas). Ljubljana (SI): Center za kartografijo favne in flore, Miklavž na Dravskem polju, Herpetološko društvo – Societas herpetologica slovenica. Vogrin N. 1997. An overview of the herpetofauna of Slovenia. Bulletin - British Herpetological Society (1980). 58: 26-35. Figure 2. The entrance pit of the Gorjanc Cave (left) and the alpine salamander Salamandra atra found approximately 30 m below the entrance (right; photo: Matjaž Čuk). Slika 2. Vhodno brezno jame Gorjanc (levo) in planinski močerad Salamandra atra najden približno 30 m pod vhodom (desno; foto: Matjaž Čuk). NAVODILA AVTORJEM 51 NAVODILA AVTORJEM Poslanstvo revije NATURA SLOVENIAE je objavljati rezultate terensko-bioloških raziskav in podatke, ki prispevajo k razumevanju zgodovine flore in favne srednje in jugovzhodne Evrope. Dobrodošli so prispevki s pomembnimi in novimi podatki o razširjenosti vrst vseh kraljestev, pregledni seznami vrst ter ekološke, biogeografske, biodiverzitetne in naravovarstvene študije. Prispevki so objavljeni v angleškem ali slovenskem jeziku. Revijo v imenu Biotehniške fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalnega inštituta za biologijo izdaja Založba Univerze v Ljubljani. Naslov glavne urednice: Maja Zagmajster, Oddelek za biologijo, Biotehniška fakulteta, Univerza v Ljubljani, Večna pot 111, SI1000 Ljubljana; maja.zagmajster@bf.uni-lj.si PREDLOŽITEV ROKOPISOV Rokopisi naj bodo oddani prek spletnega portala Založbe Univerze v Ljubljani: https://journals.uni- lj.si/NaturaSloveniae. Vse rokopise bo recenziral vsaj po en recenzent. Avtorji lahko predlagajo imena in kontakte potencialnih recenzentov, uredništvo pa si pridržuje pravico, da izbere kateregakoli drugega. Po pregledu s strani recenzenta(-ov), avtor ali avtorji sami pripravijo novo verzijo rokopisa. Popravljen rokopis je treba vrniti z označenimi spremembami (lahko uporabite orodje Track changes) skupaj z različico brez označenih sprememb ali pripomb in spremnim dopisom, v katerem so pojasnjene opravljene spremembe. Predloženi rokopis ne sme biti predhodno objavljen v nobeni obliki in ne sme biti hkrati predložen drugam (v drugo revijo, bilten ali kongresno publikacijo). Z oddajo rokopisa podelijo založniku pravico do prve izdaje članka po licenci Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. FORMAT IN OBLIKA PRISPEVKA Rokopisi so lahko predloženi v obravnavo kot znanstveni članek, kratka znanstvena vest in terenska notica. Dobrodošli so tudi drugi formati prispevkov (pregledni članki, komentarji, mnenjski članki), vendar se je treba o tem predhodno posvetovati z urednikom. Znanstveni članek je popoln opis izvirne raziskave, vključno z uvodnim pregledom ozadja in stanja poznavanja tematike. Struktura sledi principu »IMRAD« (uvod, material in metode, rezultati, razprava), sledijo sklepi (neobvezno), zahvala (neobvezno), literatura, povzetek, dodatno gradivo (neobvezno). Kratka znanstvena vest je izvirno delo, ki poroča o manjšem naboru podatkov ter o delnih ali predhodnih rezultatih raziskav. Struktura sledi principu »IMRAD«, vendar je poenostavljena, na primer z enotnim razdelkom »rezultati in razprava«. Glavnemu besedilu sledijo zahvala (neobvezno), literatura, povzetek in dodatno gradivo (neobvezno). Terenska notica je kratko poročilo o novih in zanimivih najdbah, ki izhajajo iz biološkega terenskega dela ali so z njim povezane. Vsebuje glavno besedilo, zahvalo (neobvezno) in literaturo. Naslov prispevka mora biti informativen, jasen in jedrnat. Naslovu morajo slediti imena in priimki ter polna imena avtorjev s poštnimi in elektronskimi naslovi. Lahko so dodane številke ORCID. Vsak prispevek mora vsebovati izvleček, ki vključuje zgoščeno predstavitev ciljev, uporabljenih metod, rezultatov in zaključkov. Izvleček naj ne bo daljši od 250 besed za znanstvene članke, 200 besed za kratke znanstvene vesti in 100 besed za terenske notice. Avtorji naj vključijo pet do največ deset ključnih besed, zapisanih po abecednem vrstnem redu, ki morajo odražati področje raziskav in vsebino, zajeto v prispevku. Terenska notica ne vsebuje ključnih besed. Znanstveni članki in kratke znanstvene vesti morajo vsebovati povzetek, ki sledi glavnemu besedilu rokopisa. Namen povzetka je zagotoviti izčrpne informacije za slovensko govoreče bralce, kadar je prispevek napisan v angleščini, ali neslovensko govoreče, kadar je prispevek v slovenščini. Povzetek naj ne bo le ponovitev izvlečka, ampak naj vsebuje več informacij o ciljih, metodah, rezultatih, razpravi in lahko vključuje navedbe literature ter sklice na slike in tabele. Priporočena dolžina povzetka je približno 500 besed za znanstvene članke in 300 besed za kratke znanstvene vesti. Pisci, ki ne govorijo slovensko, lahko pripravijo angleški izvleček, ključne besede in povzetek, te pa bo uredništvo prevedlo v slovenščino. Terenska notica nima povzetka. Rokopisi morajo biti predloženi v enem od razširjenih formatov za urejanje besedila, kot sta Microsoft Word (docx, doc) ali tekstovni dokument ODF (odt), po možnosti s pisavo »Times New Roman« velikosti 12, levo poravnavo in 3 cm robovi na A4 straneh. Med vrsticami naj bo dvojni razmik, vrstice naj bodo oštevilčene neprekinjeno po celem rokopisu. Naslov prispevka ter naslovi poglavij in podpoglavij morajo biti napisani s krepko pisavo velikosti 14. Znanstvena imena vseh rodov in vrst morajo biti zapisana v ležečem tisku. SLIKE IN TABELE Prispevki lahko vsebujejo do deset slik in/ali tabel. Tabele in slike, vključno z legendami, je treba umestiti v rokopis na želeno mesto. Ločljivost slik v rokopisu je lahko nižja, da se zmanjša velikost oddane datoteke. Če je rokopis sprejet v objavo, je treba slike predložiti ločeno kot visokokakovostne vektorske ali rastrske grafike v formatih pdf, svg, jpg ali tiff. Slike morajo biti pripravljene brez elementov, kot so robovi in podnapisi; te lahko dodate v rokopis z uporabo urejevalnika besedil. Če potrebujete pomoč pri pripravi grafike ustrezne kakovosti, se obrnite na urednika. Slike in tabele morajo biti oštevilčene zaporedno (Slika 1, Slika 2 ..., Tabela 1, Tabela 2 ...), v tekstu se je treba vsaj enkrat sklicevati na vsako sliko in tabelo v skrajšani obliki (Sl. 1 ali Sl. 1, 2; Tab. 1 ali Tab. 1, 2). Tabele in slike morajo skupaj s naslovi/podnaslovi in legendami vključevati dovolj podrobnosti, da so razumljive 52 NAVODILA AVTORJEM same po sebi. Naslovi/podnaslovi naj bodo v obeh jezikih (angleščini in slovenščini), ne glede na glavni jezik besedila. Za neslovensko govoreče avtorje bo za slovenske prevode poskrbelo uredništvo. Če so vključene fotografije, je treba v oklepaju navesti ime in priimek avtorja. DRUGA NAVODILA ZA OBLIKOVANJE Vsi datumi se pišejo s številkami, ne glede na jezik prispevka, gre za obliko: Dan.Mesec.Leto, na primer 23.5.2000, 16.6.2015. Domačih imen ne pišemo z veliko začetnico, izjema je poimenovanje po osebi (npr. Savijev netopir). Kadar se domače in znanstveno ime uporabljata skupaj, velja naslednje: znanstveno ime sledi domačemu brez oklepajev le v naslovu, v besedilu pa ga je treba navesti v oklepaju. Obe imeni skupaj naj se uporabljata le pri prvi omembi v besedilu prispevka, pozneje pa naj se dosledno uporablja le ena oblika. Vsako znanstveno ime naj bo vsaj enkrat zapisano v celoti, tj. vključno z avtorjem in letnico opisa. Koordinate lokalitet naj bodo v WGS84 decimalnih stopinjah. Za Slovenijo so lahko tudi v veljavnem koordinatnem sistemu ETR89. Koordinatni sistem mora biti jasno označen. LITERATURA Navajanje literature in seznam literature naj bosta v skladu s slogom »Council of Science Editors« (CSE) (https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/scientific-style-and- format), z uporabo sistema »Name-Year«, z nekaterimi spremembami (navedenimi v nadaljevanju): https://www.mcgill.ca/library/files/library/cse-name-year- citation-style-guide.pdf V besedilu: V besedilu sta priimek avtorja in letnica objave navedena v oklepaju takoj za besedilom, na katerega se nanaša: Večina samic odlaga jajca v prvi polovici junija (Fritz 2003) in... Če ima vir dva avtorja, sta navedena oba priimka med katerima je znak "&" (to se razlikuje od navodil na zgornji povezavi!). Pri delih s tremi ali več avtorji se navede samo priimek prvega avtorja, ki mu sledi "et al.": ...označene želve z marginalnim vrezovanjem (Vamberger & Kos 2011)... ...živi v spodnjem toku reke Save na Hrvaškem (Šalamon et al. 2013)... Če se navaja več virov hkrati, jih je treba navesti v kronološkem zaporedju in po abecednem redu, če so viri objavljeni v istem letu strani istega avtorja/-jev, med sabo pa jih ločiti s podpičjem. Dve ali več del, ki jih je napisal isti avtor v istem letu, je treba letnici dodati oznako (a, b, c ...). Enake oznake se navedejo v seznamu literature. ... (Müller 1921; Seifert 2007a, 2007b; Ionescu-Hirsch et al. 2009; Lapeva-Gjonova & Kiran 2012; Wiezik & Wieziková 2013). Če je avtor reference organizacija, inštitucija, univerza itd., se v besedilu uporabi skrajšana oblika imena, tako da se ohrani prva črka besed v imenu ali priznana kratica: ... (ARSO 2022). Seznam literature: Seznam literature naj sledi spodnjim primerom, a za dodatne primere naj se sledi prej navedenim smernicam za citiranje: [ARSO] Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje. 2022. Podnebne značilnosti oktobra 2022. Ljubljana (SI): Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje, Ministrstvo za okolje, podnebje in energijo. https://meteo.arso.gov.si/met/sl/climate/current/climat e_month/ [accessed on 26.11.2022] Balestrieri A, Remonti L, Prigioni C. 2015. Towards extinction and back: Decline and recovery of otter populations in Italy. In: Angelici FM, editor. Problematic Wildlife. Springer International. Switzerland. p. 91-105. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22246-2_5 Gregorc T, Nekrep I. 2010. Poročilo skupine za vidro. In: Vinko D, editor. Raziskovalni tabor študentov biologije Most na Soči 2010. Ljubljana (SI): Društvo študentov biologije. p. 12-21. Kruuk H, Conroy JWH, Glimmerveen U, Ouwerkerk EJ. 1986. The use of spraints to survey populations of otters (Lutra lutra). Biological Conservation. 35: 187-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(86)90050-9 Gorički Š, Stanković D, Snoj A, Kuntner M, Jeffery WR, Trontelj P, Pavic M, Grizelj Z, Năpăruș-Aljančič M, Aljančič G. 2017. Environmental DNA in subterranean biology: Range extension and taxonomic implications for Proteus. Scientific Reports. 7: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45054 Navajanje zakonodajnih dokumentov: Slovenska zakonodaja: Navajanje v besedilu: (Ur. l. RS 2002) ali (Ur. l. RS 2004a) ali (Ur. l. RS 2004b) Seznam literature: Ur. l. RS. 2002. Pravilnik o uvrstitvi ogroženih rastlinskih in živalskih vrst v rdeči seznam. Uradni list RS, št. 82/02, 42/10. Ur. l. RS. 2004a. Uredba o zavarovanih prostoživečih živalskih vrstah. Uradni list RS, št. 46/04, 109/04, 84/05, 115/07, 32/08 – odl. US, 96/08, 36/09, 102/11, 15/14, 64/16, 62/19. Zakonodaja EU, mednarodne konvencije: Navajanje v besedilu: (UL ES 1992) Seznam literature: OJ EC. 1992. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. Official Journal of the European Communities L 206, 22.7.1992. p. 7-50. INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS 53 INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS The mission of NATURA SLOVENIAE is to foster the understanding of the natural history of Central and Southeastern Europe by publishing the results of field- biological research and data. Manuscripts reporting significant and new distributional records, species lists from all kingdoms as well as ecological, biogeographical, biodiversity and conservation studies are welcome. Papers are published in English or Slovenian language. The journal is being published by University of Ljubljana Press on behalf of the Biotechnical Faculty of the University of Ljubljana and the National Institute of Biology (Slovenia). The address of the Editor in Chief: Maja Zagmajster, Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, SI1000 Ljubljana; maja.zagmajster@bf.uni-lj.si MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION Manuscripts should be submitted via the web portal of the University of Ljubljana Press: https://journals.uni-lj.si/NaturaSloveniae All manuscripts will be subject to peer review by at least one referee. Authors are invited to suggest the names and contacts of potential referees, although the editor reserves the right to select any other. Once reviewed by the referee(s), the manuscript should be revised by the author or authors themselves. The revised manuscript should be returned with marked changes (Track changes tool can be used) along with a clean version (no marked changes or comments) and a rebuttal letter explaining the changes made. 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The resolution of figures in the manuscript may be reduced to ensure a manageable file size. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, figures should be submitted separately as high-quality vector or raster graphics, in pdf, svg, jpg, or tiff formats. Figures should be prepared without graphical elements such as borders and captions; those can be added in the manuscript using the word processor instead. Please contact the editor if you need assistance with preparing graphics of sufficient quality. 54 INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript (Figure 1, Figure 2 …, Table 1, Table 2 …). Each Figure and Table should be referred to at least once in the main manuscript text, in abbreviated form (Fig. 1 or Figs. 1, 2; Tab. 1 or Tabs. 1, 2). Tables and figures along with their titles and legends should contain enough details to be self-explanatory. Titles should be given in both languages (English and Slovenian), regardless of the language of the main text. For non- Slovenian speaking writers, Slovenian translations will be provided by the editorial team. When photographs are included, the author’s name and surname should be given in brackets. OTHER FORMAT GUIDELINES All dates are written with numbers, no matter the language of the contribution, it is the form: Day. Month. Year, for example 23. 5. 2000, 16. 6. 2015. Vernacular names should not be capitalized, an exception being naming after a person (e.g. Savi's pipistrelle). When vernacular and scientific name are used together, the following applies: the scientific name follows the vernacular without brackets only in the title, while in the text it should be given in parentheses. Both names together should be used only at the first mention in the contribution text, while later only one form should be used consistently. Each scientific name should at least once be written in full, i.e. including taxonomic authority and year of description. Coordinates of localities should be given in WGS84 decimal degrees format. For Slovenia, they can also be in the valid ETR89 coordinate system. The coordinate system must be clearly indicated. REFERENCES Citing of the references and the format of the reference list should follow the Council of Science Editors (CSE) style (https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/scientific-style-and- format), using Name-Year system, with some modifications (listed below): https://www.mcgill.ca/library/files/library/ cse-name-year-citation-style-guide.pdf In the text: The author’s surname and the year of publication are enclosed in parentheses immediately following the text to which it refers: Most females lay eggs in the first half of June (Fritz 2003) and… If a reference has two authors, both surnames are included separated by “&” (this is different to instructions in the link!). For works with three or more authors, only the first author’s name is included, followed by et al.: …marked turtles by marginal notching (Vamberger & Kos 2011)… …does live downstream along the Sava River in Croatia (Šalamon et al. 2013)… If several sources are cited at once, they should be listed in chronological order and alphabetically among references published in the same year, separated by a semicolon. Two or more works written by the same author in the same year should be marked by a designator (a, b, c…) to distinguish them. The same designators are used in the reference list. … (Müller 1921; Seifert 2007a, 2007b; Ionescu-Hirsch et al. 2009; Lapeva-Gjonova & Kiran 2012; Wiezik & Wieziková 2013). If the author of a reference is an organization, institution, university, etc., an abbreviated form of the name is used in the in-text citation, by retaining the first letter of each word in the name, or some other recognized abbreviation: … (FAO 2007). Reference list: The reference list should follow the below examples, but see the above given citation guidelines: [ARSO] Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje. 2022. Podnebne značilnosti oktobra 2022. Ljubljana (SI): Agencija Republike Slovenije za okolje, Ministrstvo za okolje, podnebje in energijo. https://meteo.arso.gov.si/met/sl/climate/current/climat e_month/ [accessed on 26.11.2022] Balestrieri A, Remonti L, Prigioni C. 2015. Towards extinction and back: Decline and recovery of otter populations in Italy. In: Angelici FM, editor. Problematic Wildlife. Springer International. Switzerland. p. 91-105. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22246-2_5 Gorički Š, Stanković D, Snoj A, Kuntner M, Jeffery WR, Trontelj P, Pavic M, Grizelj Z, Năpăruș-Aljančič M, Aljančič G. 2017. Environmental DNA in subterranean biology: Range extension and taxonomic implications for Proteus. Scientific Reports. 7: 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45054 Gregorc T, Nekrep I. 2010. Poročilo skupine za vidro. In: Vinko D, editor. Raziskovalni tabor študentov biologije Most na Soči 2010. Ljubljana (SI): Društvo študentov biologije. p. 12-21. Kruuk H, Conroy JWH, Glimmerveen U, Ouwerkerk EJ. 1986. The use of spraints to survey populations of otters (Lutra lutra). Biological Conservation. 35: 187-194. https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(86)90050-9 Citing legislation documents: Slovenian legislation: Citation in the text: (Ur. l. RS 2002) or (Ur. l. RS 2004). Reference list: Ur. l. RS. 2002. Pravilnik o uvrstitvi ogroženih rastlinskih in živalskih vrst v rdeči seznam. Uradni list RS, no. 82/02, 42/10. Ur. l. RS. 2004. Uredba o zavarovanih prosto živečih živalskih vrstah. Uradni list RS, no. 46/04, 109/04, 84/05, 115/07, 32/08 – odl. US, 96/08, 36/09, 102/11, 15/14, 64/16, 62/19. EU legislation, international conventions: Citation in the text: (OJ EC 1992) Reference list: OJ EC. 1992. Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. Official Journal of the European Communities L 206, 22.7.1992. p. 7-50.