Monitoraggio di Maculinea arion in due Zone Speciali di Conservazione della Toscana meridionale (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae)

Monitoring of Maculinea arion in two Special Areas of Conservation of Southern Tuscany (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae). The European populations of Maculinea arion (Linné, 1758) are in continuous decline and in about fifty years many will become extinct, especially the Italian ones which are found at the southern limits of the range. In the years 2020-2024, the populations living in two Special Areas of Conservation of Southern Tuscany, IT5190003 Montagnola Senese and Alta Val di Merse, were monitored. The samplings were carried out between the first week of June and the second week of August in five transects, three of the Montagnola Senese and two of the Alta Val di Merse, using the methods suggested by Bonelli et al. (2016) for the national monitoring of the species. In the five years, only 12 specimens were detected in total, 8 in the Montagnola Senese and 4 in the Alta Val di Merse, a fact that attests to how the species is present in both two Special Areas of Conservation with very small populations for which it is not possible to highlight a trend that fully reflects the real situation. The maintenance and management of the grasslands through extensive wild grazing with limited livestock load and selective mowing repeated in rotation at intervals of 2-3 years, the removal of excessively developing shrub vegetation together with studies of the autoecology of the local populations of Maculinea arion and the host ants are the actions necessary for the maintenance of this species in the two Special Areas of Conservation.