Conservation Biology of Lycaenidae (Butterflies) - IUCN

numbers. As Collins and Morris (1985) commented for
Papilionidae 'there is a danger that collectors may be unable to
recognise when they are depleting butterfly stocks below the
threshold of recovery, particularly when they only visit the
breeding area for short periods of time'. Although no Lycaenidae
are currently listed in CITES Appendices, a number of rare or
local species have received local legislative protection (if not
more tangible conservation) through bans on collecting. In
addition, over 40 species are mentioned in various countrybased
European legislation (Collins 1987b and Table 3) and 28
taxa are listed in the United States Federal Register of Endangered
and Threatened Wildlife. The most prolific, and probably the
least discriminating legislation is in India, where some 160
species are listed under the Wildlife Protection Act (Table 4).
The Code of Conservation Responsibility adopted by
commercial entomologists in Britain in 1974, restricts trade in
a number of species (including Maculinea arion (L.), then still
extant in Britain) to specimens already in 'circulation', so that
the only legal way that a collector can purchase examples of
these species is from the limited pool already in collections.
Seventy-nine lycaenid taxa arc included in the IUCN Red
List of Threatened Animals (1990) (Table 5). Many of these are
also cited in various country-based legislations.
Habitat alteration and destruction
This is the prime threat to all lycaenid species with limited
distributions and low vagility, and has already been the agent of
major declines of many of these – as the examples discussed
later in this volume attest. Lycaenid taxa are particularly
susceptible to certain types of habitat alteration including:
changes in forestry practices in tropical and temperate regions;
conversion of shrublands to pasture and agricultural lands;
wetland drainage; heathland succession; grassland management
practices; the effects of grazing animals such as rabbits; and
expanding urban, industrial and recreational land use.
In common with all other animals and plants, levels of
concern therefore range from large-scale destruction of tropical
rainforests whose biota have scarcely been documented (and in
many cases never now can be), to small, local habitat changes
Table 2. Lycaenidae flown in butterfly houses in Britain (Collins 1987a).
Species
Eumaeus alula
I ampules boeticus
Lycaena helle
L. phlaeas
Narathura centaurus
Polyommatus icarus
Spindasis syama
Telicada nyseus
Native range
Caribbean
(widespread)
Europe, Asia
Europe, Asia
Malaysia
Europe
Asia
East Asia
9
in 'ordinary' vegetation such as grassland or heathland. Such
changes have, of course, occurred in many parts of the world,
and in many major areas their effects have been both unheralded
and undocumented so that we can merely infer, from the present
status of taxa and knowledge of their biology as this accumulates,
the magnitude of their effects. Only rarely outside northern
temperate regions has conservation awareness for Lycaenidae
progressed to the stage where concern can be shown in any
practical manner. There, it is sometimes abundantly clear that
decline of species or assemblages, and the initiation of concern
for their conservation, has been engendered by particular
localised human activities – sometimes as 'one-off destructive
events, sometimes more broadly. Many of the former apply to
remnant populations which represent formerly much more
widespread taxa which have become progressively vulnerable
over a longer time. In other parts of the world, very many
species have been recorded only from single or highly disjunct
localities, and even sound demonstration of their abundance or
dependence on particular habitats is difficult or impossible at
this time. In short, status evaluation is difficult or impossible,
and the option of habitat protection, in the interest of decreasing
or eliminating perceived threats, is the most urgent option.
In contrast to most Papilionidae, grassland and other open
vegetation types are vitally important habitats to many
Lycaenidae. In Europe, calcareous grassland is a particularly
important lycaenid habitat which has undergone large scale and
sometimes dramatic changes. The extinction of Cyaniris
semiargus (Rottemburg) in Britain as long ago as 1877 has been
attributed to changes in grassland management (Heath 1981).
While 'traditional' methods of land and vegetation
maintenance, such as coppicing of forests, may foster the wellbeing
of some species, intensification of agricultural practices
has caused concern for some. Wetlands are particularly
vulnerable to such changes and a number of European wetland
Lycaenidae are under threat. Some species of Maculinea and
Lycaena restricted to this habitat are particularly endangered.
Drainage of the fens in England last century was a prime cause
of decline of Lycaena dispar.
Urbanisation has caused concern for lycaenids in places as
far apart as Los Angeles, California and Melbourne, Australia.
Origin of material
U.S.A.: Florida
Sri Lanka, Malaysia
France
France
Malaysia
U.K
Malaysia
Sri Lanka, Malaysia