The Diurnal Lepidoptera Fauna in Buila-Vânturarița National Park: One-Season Survey

Abstract

Diurnal Lepidoptera, mostly Papilionoidaea, is a well-studied group of organisms, and its faunas are usually relatively well-documented all over Europe. However, the Romanian Lepidoptera fauna still lacks species lists from various regions, including National or Natural Parks. Buila-Vânturarița National Park is one of the protected areas that previously benefited from the implementation of several EC-funded projects that produced a management plan in 2005 in preparation for legislative changes with Romania’s accession to the EU. However, the Lepidoptera species mentioned in this older management plan are just some of the few of the EC-Habitats Directive species, and there are still insufficient information about their distribution and conservation status. There are no checklists for the Lepidoptera from the Buila-Vânturarița National Park ever published. In this study, diurnal Lepidoptera from open or semi-open habitats were inventoried in the Buila-Vânturarița National Park. A method for efficiently sampling habitats is presented and analysed. The results produced a list of 64 diurnal Lepidoptera, representing approximately 80% of the species that should be found in the National Park Buila-Vânturarița. Additionally, three Natura 2000 species were found, not previously mentioned in the Management Plan.