I Lepidotteri Ropaloceri della Zona Speciale di Conservazione IT51A0002 Poggi di Prata (Grosseto, Toscana meridionale): risultati preliminari (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea)

Sampling carried out in the period April-October of the years 2024 and 2025 in the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) IT51A0002 Poggi di Prata allowed to ascertain the presence of 76 species of Rhopalocera. Those of greatest interest are Maculinea arion (Linnaeus, 1758), Satyrium w-album (Knoch, 1782), Argynnis pandora ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), Cupido minimus (Fuessly, 1775), Thymelicus lineola Ochsenheimer, [1808]), Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761), Erynnis tages (Linné, 1758) and Polyommatus bellargus (Rottemburg, 1775) species ranging from uncommon to rare to threatened on a regional, national and European scale. The data obtained, although preliminary, highlight how the Poggi di Prata are characterized by the presence of a rich and diverse rhopaloceros fauna. Its maintenance requires preserving the dry, semi-natural, xeric grasslands, the habitat of greatest interest to Lepidoptera, which are undergoing rapid decline. To achieve this, it is necessary to: restore extensive grazing; alternate free-grazing areas with annual fallow areas to avoid overgrazing; mow the herbaceous vegetation with haymaking spread over limited areas or, in specific cases, reduce the weeds through controlled winter burning; and limit the growth of shrubs through periodic cutting.