Butterflies in the NATURA 2000 Areas of Crete

The Natura 2000 Network

The Natura 2000 Network is a European ecological network of areas that host natural habitat types and habitats of species of importance at the European level. It consists of two categories of sites:

• Special Protection Areas (SPAs) for birds, established under the Directive 79/409/EEC “on the conservation of wild birds”
• Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), established under the Directive 92/43/EEC. For the designation of SCIs, the habitat types and species listed in Annexes I and II of Directive 92/43/EEC, as well as the criteria set out in Annex III of the same Directive, are taken into account.

SPAs, once designated by the Member States, are automatically included in the Natura 2000 Network, and their management follows the provisions of Article 6(2), (3) and (4) of Directive 92/43/EEC, as well as Article 4 of Directive 79/409/EEC.
In contrast, the inclusion of SCIs involves scientific evaluation and negotiation between the Member States and the European Commission, in accordance with the outcomes of the Biogeographical Seminars held for each ecological region. SCIs are subject to the provisions of Article 6(2), (3) and (4) of Directive 92/43/EEC.

After the finalization of the SCI list, Member States are required to designate these areas as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) within a maximum period of six years and to define conservation priorities aimed at maintaining habitat types and species of Community interest in a favourable conservation status within these areas. SACs are subject to the provisions of Article 6(1), (2), (3) and (4) of Directive 92/43/EEC.

The Natura 2000 Network of Crete – Butterfly Species

The Natura 2000 network of Crete includes a total of 54 areas that were incorporated into the Community Natura 2000 Network under Law 3937 (Government Gazette 60 A / 31-3-2011), “Conservation of biodiversity and other provisions.” Of these, 28 are Sites of Community Importance (SCI), and 26 are Special Protection Areas (SPA), collectively covering an area equivalent to 141,318.49 hectares.

The island of Dia, which constitutes both a Site of Community Importance and a Special Protection Area, is the only site that bears the same code for both types of protected areas.

According to recently updated research data for the year 2025 (Pamperis L.N., 2025, with the addition of three species to GR4320013 based on records by K. Bormpoudaki, 2025), the number of butterfly species per site within the Natura 2000 areas of Crete is presented in the Table. Several of these areas require further investigation and may potentially host additional species.