Le farfalle delle zone speciali di conservazione IT5190008 Lago di Montepulciano e IT5190009 Lago di Chiusi (Toscana)

Butterflies of the IT5190008 Lago di Montepulciano e IT5190009 Lago di Chiusi (Tuscany)’s special areas of conservation (Lepidoptera Papilionoidea). Unpublished data collected between 1990 and 2022 and bibliographic and website data updated to 2023 on the rhopaloceran fauna of the lake of Montepulciano and lake of Chiusi, two special areas of conservation (92/43/EEC) in southern Tuscany, showed 57 and 64 species. The most significant species for conservation value and interesting because they are not so common elsewhere in southern Tuscany are Zerynthia cassandra (Geyer, [1828]), Cupido argiades (Pallas, 1771), Apatura ilia ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) e Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758). The carrying out of late mowing of the herbaceous vegetation (in October-November) carried out in rotation on plots of reduced surface area alternating over the years and the monitoring of the species are fundamental measures for ensuring the survival of the rhopaloceran fauna of the Lago di Montepulciano and Lago di Chiusi, in particular of the populations of Zerynthia cassandra (Geyer, [1828]), few in number in Chiusi and probably declining in numbers in Montepulciano.