Population structure and movements of a threatened butterfly ( Lopinga achine) in a fragmented landscape in Sweden

Abstract

The red-listed butterfly Lopinga achine was studied by mark–recapture methods in southern Sweden for three seasons. We examined movement within and between populations and egg production in relation to age. The majority of the movements were small with mean movements between recaptures of 45–54 m for males and 94–116 m for females. There were few movements between sites, 20 of 996 recaptured males moved and 36 of 391 recaptured females, even though the distance to other sites was in many cases <100 m. The distance moved and the number of females moving between sites increased with increasing age. On average, a female that moves does so after laying two-thirds of its eggs in its natal site. It is therefore important to take account of the proportion of reproductive effort involved in dispersal when estimating colonisation ability. The males did not move more with increasing age. Female behaviour can be seen as a “spread-the-risk” strategy, an adaptation to the successional habitat of L. achine, whose natal site sooner or later will deteriorate. Butterflies like L. achine living in successional habitats may exhibit mobility that is intermediate between butterflies living in ephemeral habitats (very mobile) and in long-lived habitats (sedentary).