Habitat preferences of Maculinea arion and its Myrmica host ants: implications for habitat management in Italian Alps

Abstract

Projections of climate-change scenarios indicate that many Maculinea arion populations will disappear from Europe over the next 50 years. Extinctions will be particularly concentrated around the southern limits of the species’ range, such as the Italian peninsula, except mountain populations, mainly in the Alps. M. arion is a social parasite of Myrmica ants and its survival depends on the presence and abundance of two resources, i.e. (1) a specific larval foodplant and (2) a suitable Myrmica host ant. We collected data on Thymus plants distribution, Myrmica ants abundance, turf height around Myrmica nests, distance between nests and the closest thyme plant (Thymus pulegioides), and vegetation structure at 14 patches of a M. arion fragmented population occurring in the Western Italian Alps (Val Ferret: Aosta). We found that patches with the highest abundance of M. arion had significantly higher foodplant abundance. Among 407 nests belonging to nine Myrmica species, we found M. arion larvae in one Myrmica lonae and in two Myrmica sulcinodis nests. The distribution of M. sulcinodis nests showed the best spatial overlap with Thymus plants. M. sulcinodis was also significantly more abundant on pastures showing high M. arion density, and therefore offered higher adoption probabilities to develop butterfly larvae. On M. arion habitat patches, the mean turf height around Myrmica nests varied from 10.5 to 22.3 cm and best matched the habitat requirements of T. pulegioides. Thus, we suggest that extensive grazing is needed to maintain the two most important resources for M. arion. Moreover, patches where M. arion was abundant included more numerous plant species characteristic of these mountain pastures, as well as higher plant diversity (Shannon index). As a consequence, M. arion represents an umbrella species and a good indicator for the conservation status of mountain grasslands.