Biology and biogeography of the chalk-hill blue Polyommatus coridon – insect of the year 2015 for Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Thomas Schmitt

doi:10.3897/nl.38.4977

Abstract

The chalk-hill blue was nominated insect of the year 2015 for Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The species is strongly associated with base-rich short-turfed swards; the caterpillars feed mainly on horse-shoe vetch Hippocrepis comosa and show myrmecophilous behaviour. The species is restricted to Europe, where it is widely distributed but missing from the northern parts of the continent. Polyommatus coridon survived the last ice age in Mediterranean refugia in Italy and the Balkan Peninsula from where it colonised more northern regions postglacially.

Highlights

The insect of the year for Germany, Austria and Switzerland has been nominated by a curatorium every year since 1999
This panel is composed of experts representing a variety of scientific societies and institutions in these three countries
It was demonstrated that the Leine valley with its intensive agriculture genetically separated the populations to the East and West of it (Krauss et al 2004). These results on population genetics are mostly supported by a classical ecological study from the Göttingen region which demonstrated that the population density of P. coridon is mainly dependent on the quantity of its larval host plant, in this case H. comosa, but not on the effect of habitat isolation and habitat quality (Krauss et al 2005)

Summary

Introduction

The insect of the year for Germany, Austria and Switzerland has been nominated by a curatorium every year since 1999. In these bivoltine populations of south-western Slovakia, a first generation by the end of May and in June composed of relatively small numbers of individuals is followed by a second generation, which normally is much more numerous than the first generation and on the wing during the normal flight period of univoltine populations of adjoining regions (Schmitt et al 2005).

Results

Conclusion