Parnassius mnemosyne (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in North Moravia: review of present and past distribution, proposal for conservation

Abstrakt: Historical and recent distribution of the Clouded Apollo, Parnassius mnemosyne (Linnaeus, 1758) in North Moravia is reviewed and evaluated. Altogether 87 localities are recorded on the basis of field research, revisions of collection material and literature records. The butterfly has disappeared from many areas of its former occurrence. Thus, only 16 localities may be considered as recent (the species occurred there after 1990). Among them, localities in the Litovelské Pomoravi Protected Landscape Area, the Javorníky Mountains and stream valleys in the western and southern foothills of the Nízký Jeseník Mountains still host abundant and viable populations. Four time periods are distinguished (until 1900, 1900–1950, 1951–1990, after 1990); the highest rate of population extinctions (42 localities) was occurred the period 1951–1990. The most common cause of population extinction are changes in forest management (coniferisation and replacement of coppicing and selectively harvested woods by mature forest). Proposal for conservation via altered forest management of inhabited sites is based on a metapopulation mo­del.

Klíčová slova: Faunistics, Lepidoptera, Papilionidae, Parnassius mnemosyne, past and present distribution, Central Europe, Czech Republic, conservation