Missing butterflies of Crete - photos © Xristos Dimadis
MISSING BUTTERFLIES OF CRETE
HAVE YOU SEEN THESE BUTTERFLIES IN CRETE?
There are 43 missing butterflies on the island of Crete, have you ever seen these species on the island of Crete?
These butterflies have been referenced as occurring in Crete by several sources over the last 200 years. For example, in “A revision of the genus Tarucus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) of Europe, North Africa, and Asia, Evans, W.H., Entomologist 88: 179-187, 1955)” two collected specimens (1 ♂, 1 ♀) of Tarucus balkanicus were reported from Crete. Nowadays, Tarucus balkanicus seems to be absent from the island, and the possibility of its existence should be evaluated. Consequently, habitats of the island related to its larva food plants (Ziziphus sp) need to be carefully monitored and investigated.
Habitat destruction through time is a reason for the possible extinction of certain species of Crete that actually occurred on the island in the past times. Crete is an isolated island and boasts unique ecosystems within small areas and this is a factor that could have made butterflies more vulnerable to extinction.
The threats of invasive species and poorly managed pesticide use, collectors, and worldwide trade in butterflies can also be sufficient to eliminate a species from an area, even without overt habitat destruction. The combination of these factors with the pressures of human development is sufficient to have pushed a butterfly species into extinction on the island or in any other parts of the world as well.
Of course, there is always the possibility of misidentified species in the past, because of their great similarity in external features of certain existing species of the island, i.e. Gonepteryx rhamni vs Gonepteryx cleopatra, Hipparchia syriaca vs Hipparchia cretica, etc.
MISSING BUTTERFLIES OF CRETE
The following catalog of missing butterflies of Crete was based on the information provided by the website https://www.pamperis.gr/THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_GREECE/MAPS.html. The questioned species concerning the island of Crete are marked with a (?) in the distribution maps and have been proposed by L.N. Pamperis as a result of his personal investigations in published papers, scientific reports, travel reports, etc. In alphabetical order butterfly species of Crete that their presence worth to be investigated on the island:
Aglais io (Linnaeus, 1758)
Peacock
Aglais urticae
Anthocharis cardamines (Linnaeus, 1758)
Orange Tip
Anthocharis gruneri ()
Grüner’s Orange Tip
Archon apolinnus (Herbst, 1789)
False Apollo
Argynnis paphia
Borbo borbonica
Chazara briseis
Coenonympha pamphilus
Colias alfacariensis (
Colias erate
Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow
Cupido alcetas
Provencal Short-Tailed Blue
Cupido minimus
Erynnis tages
Glaucopsyche alexis
Gonepteryx farinosa
Gonepteryx rhamni
Hipparchia senthes
Hipparchia syriaca
Hyponephele lycaon
Issoria lathonia
Queen of Spain Fritillary
Lasiommata maera
Lysandra bellargus
Maniola telmessia
Melanargia larissa
Ochlodes sylvanus
Papilio alexanor (
Parnassius apollo
Pieris krueperi (Staudinger, 1860
Krueper’s Small White
Pieris mannii
Pieris napi
Polygonia c-album
Polyommatus thersites
Pontia chloridice
Pyrgus carthami
Pyrgus malvae
Pyronia tithonus
Satyrium acaciae
Spialia phlomidis
Tarucus balkanicus
Thymelicus lineola
Zerynthia cerisy
Zerynthia polyxena
*photo by Charles J. Sharp – Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharp photography, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58648461
**photo by Alpsdake – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19172688