Influence of forest and grassland management on the diversity and conservation of butterflies and burnet moths (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea, Hesperiidae, Zygaenidae)

Abstract

The distribution of butterflies and burnet moths was investigated at 38 patches in the Oettinger Forst (Bavaria, Germany) in 2001. Forty-two butterfly and four burnet moth species were recorded. They were unequally distributed over the study area. The diversity was significantly lower in the forests than in the non-forest patches. Windblows and meadows showed largely similar results but clearings had higher Shannon indices and Eveness and presented a trend to higher species numbers. The hay meadows had higher mean incidences of the 25 common species and exhibited a trend to higher numbers of individuals and species as well as higher mean Shannon indices than in the mulched meadows. The old quarries and sandpits harboured remarkable species, some of these occurring in high densities, thus underlining the conservation value of such structures in a non-target area for nature-conservation measurements.