Phengaris teleius

Scope: Europe

Language: English

Download assessment

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Translate page into:

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
Animalia	Arthropoda	Insecta	Lepidoptera	Lycaenidae

Scientific Name:

Phengaris teleius

Species Authority:

(Bergsträsser, 1779)

Regional Assessments:

Global

Mediterranean

Common Name(s):

English

–

Scarce Large Blue

Synonym(s):

Maculinea teleius (Bergsträsser, 1779)

Papilio teleius Bergsträsser, 1779

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable A2c (Regional assessment) ver 3.1
Year Published:	2010
Date Assessed:	2009-01-29
Assessor(s):	van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. & Settele, J.
Reviewer(s):	van Swaay, C. & Cuttelod, A. (IUCN Red List Unit)
Justification: In Europe, a population decline of more than 30% is reported in the last ten years. In the EU27 countries, a population decline of more than 30% falls within the uncertainty limits for this species' population decline. Therefore, this species is considered as Vulnerable both at the European and the EU27 level.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:

This species occurs in widely scattered populations in Central Europe: in France, north of Switzerland, north of Italy, south and central Germany, south of Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary and further eastwards to Mongolia, Korea and Japan. 0-1,600 m. The global distribution area of the species is situated both within and outside Europe.

Countries occurrence:

Native:

Austria; Belarus; Croatia; Czech Republic; France; Germany; Hungary; Italy; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Poland; Romania; Russian Federation; Slovakia; Slovenia; Switzerland; Ukraine

Regionally extinct:

Belgium

Reintroduced:

Netherlands

Additional data:

Range Map:

Population [top]

Population:

This is a local species, restricted to (semi-) natural areas. It is reported extinct in Belgium. Strong decline in distribution or population size of more than 30% have been reported from Germany and Ukraine. Decline in distribution or population size of 6-30% have been reported from Austria, France, Hungary, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland (data provided by the national partners of Butterfly Conservation Europe).

Current Population Trend:

Decreasing

Additional data:

♦ Population severely fragmented:	No

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The Scarce Large Blue can be found in moderately nutrient-rich meadows whit Great Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis). In northern Europe, it occurs in open, short vegetation, but in the warm, southern regions, it is also found in rough vegetation. The butterflies tend to keep near the foodplants. The small caterpillars only feed on the flowerheads for two or three weeks. They then go down to the ground where they wait to be picked up by worker ants of the genus Myrmica and carried off to the ants' nest. There they feed on ant grubs. The caterpillars also hibernate and pupate in the ants' nest. The species of host ant varies in different parts of its range. The Scarce Large Blue has one generation a year. Habitats: humid grasslands and tall herb communities (38%), mesophile grasslands (16%), blanket bogs (12%), water-fringe vegetation (9%), fens, transition mires and springs (9%).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

The Scarce Large Blue can be found in moderately nutrient-rich meadows whit Great Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis). In northern Europe, it occurs in open, short vegetation, but in the warm, southern regions, it is also found in rough vegetation. The butterflies tend to keep near the foodplants. The small caterpillars only feed on the flowerheads for two or three weeks. They then go down to the ground where they wait to be picked up by worker ants of the genus Myrmica and carried off to the ants' nest. There they feed on ant grubs. The caterpillars also hibernate and pupate in the ants' nest. The species of host ant varies in different parts of its range. The Scarce Large Blue has one generation a year. Habitats: humid grasslands and tall herb communities (38%), mesophile grasslands (16%), blanket bogs (12%), water-fringe vegetation (9%), fens, transition mires and springs (9%).

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This species is threatened by changes in agricultural management, like drainage, improvement or abandonment.

Major Threat(s):

This species is threatened by changes in agricultural management, like drainage, improvement or abandonment.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	The species is listed on the Habitats Directive Annexes 2 and 4 and Bern Convention Annex 2. Suitable habitats should be protected and appropriately managed. As the species in not mobile, it needs areas with large and well connected patches of habitat. The effects of conservation actions should be monitored by a Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. In the Netherlands, the species only occurs in protected areas. In France and Germany, it is unknown if all populations are in Natura 2000 areas. The species has been re-introduced in the Netherlands in 1990. The habitats of P. teleius are legally protected in many countries, but since many populations are not in nature reserves no special attention is given to the habitat demands. Like for other Phengaris (former Maculinea)-species, the ecological demands of this species are relatively well known.

Conservation Actions:

The species is listed on the Habitats Directive Annexes 2 and 4 and Bern Convention Annex 2. Suitable habitats should be protected and appropriately managed. As the species in not mobile, it needs areas with large and well connected patches of habitat. The effects of conservation actions should be monitored by a Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. In the Netherlands, the species only occurs in protected areas. In France and Germany, it is unknown if all populations are in Natura 2000 areas. The species has been re-introduced in the Netherlands in 1990. The habitats of P. teleius are legally protected in many countries, but since many populations are not in nature reserves no special attention is given to the habitat demands. Like for other Phengaris (former Maculinea)-species, the ecological demands of this species are relatively well known.

Citation:	van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. & Settele, J. 2010. Phengaris teleius. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010: e.T12664A3372061. . Downloaded on 12 July 2017.
Disclaimer:	To make use of this information, please check the <Terms of Use>.
Feedback:	If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please provide us with feedback so that we can correct or extend the information provided