To enhance the establishment of new populations of reintroduced Maculinea species and increase dispersal between sites, a regional action plan has been started. Public communities, nature conservation organizations, amateurs and farmers participate in the agreements on management of sites. The study describes the changes in the ant fauna in the Action Plan Area after changes in the management of canal borders, road verges and ditch sides

A M H Brunsting

C A M Van Swaay

I Wynhoff

J G Van Der Made

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PROC. EXPER. APPL. ENTOMOL., NEV AMSTERDAM – VOLUME 12 – 2001 135 
Conservation of Maculinea butterflies at landscape level 
I. Wynhoff1,2, C.A.M. van Swaay2, A.M.H. Brunsting1 & J.G. van der Made2 
1 Tropical Nature Conservation and Vertebrate Ecology Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen 
Agricultural University, Bornsesteeg 69, NL-6708 PD Wageningen, the Netherlands (Irma.Wynhoff@staf.ton.wau.nl); 2 
Dutch Butterfly Conservation, PO Box 506, NL-6700 AM Wageningen, the Netherlands 
To enhance the establishment of new populations of reintroduced Maculinea species and increase 
dispersal between sites, a regional action plan has been started. Public communities, nature 
conservation organizations, amateurs and farmers participate in the agreements on management of 
sites. The study describes the changes in the ant fauna in the Action Plan Area after changes in the 
management of canal borders, road verges and ditch sides. 
Keywords: reintroduction, Maculinea, Myrmica, regional action plan, management 
In many plant and animal species a severe decline and loss of populations has been observed 
during the last century. This sad development has not only taken place in cities, villages and 
agricultural landscapes, but also in nature reserves, where species were supposed to survive under 
relatively protected conditions (Hunter 1996). Meta-population systems were first diluted by the 
loss of subpopulations until only unconnected core populations were left. These core populations 
are sensitive to stochastic extinction and were lost consecutively, often without any clear reason 
(Hanski & Gilpin 1997). For nature conservationists and reserve wardens, the loss of species is a 
problem, especially when a flagship species is concerned. After a species is reintroduced, special 
measures are taken to facilitate the new settlement of a population and its increase in numbers. 
However if reintroduction concentrates only on the welfare of the new population, the chances for 
a new stochastic extinction are still high and might eventually lead to new extinction. Therefore it 
is essential to include measures on landscape scale too. 
The large blue butterfly species Maculinea teleius and M. nausithous are good examples for 
flagship species. In the 1970's both butterfly species were lost in the Netherlands, but in 1990 they 
were reintroduced into a nature reserve close to the city of ‘s Hertogenbosch. The new populations 
developed well and showed a considerable increase in numbers (Wynhoff 1998). Maculinea 
nausithous settled first on a location in the nature reserve, from where a subpopulation on the road 
verges south of the reserve was established. Later, another subpopulation at a distance of 5 km 
from the reintroduction site was found, too. On the contrary, Maculinea teleius colonized only the 
meadow where it was released, but did not disperse to other locations. It became obvious that the 
habitat quality of the road verges, ditch sides and embankments are very important for the long-
term persistence of both species. They could fulfil a role as dispersal corridor but also as a 
temporary or semi-permanent habitat (Oostermeijer & Wynhoff 1996). 
Maculinea teleius and M. nausithous are obligate parasites of ants. The caterpillars live for a 
period of about 10 month in the nests of Myrmica scabrinodis and Myrmica rubra where they feed 
on ant larvae. The eggs are deposited on the only host plant Sanguisorba officinalis (Thomas 
1984). Hence, the suitability of a certain habitat patch is determined by the presence of the host 
plant and the specific host ants. Both components are sensitive to management. To encourage an 
increase in Myrmica ant nest density and further dispersal of the Maculinea populations, the 
Province of Northern Brabant designated a Maculinea Action Plan Area (Provincie Noord-Brabant 
1997). In this area the management of nature reserves and public property areas was changed to 
increase Myrmica ant nest densities. In the surrounding of the Moerputten nature reserve the 
density of Sanguisorba officinalis is high on road verges and in nature reserves, whereas it is 
missing in the meadows and fields under agricultural use. The density of Myrmica ants is in 
comparison much lower. This study describes the changes in ant fauna in the Action Plan Area 
three years after starting management changes. 
136 FAUNISTICS AND CONSERVATION 
 
Ecology of the investigated ant species 
Within Europe, ants of the genus Myrmica and Lasius are common and widespread (Seifert 1994, 
1996, Van Loon & Mabelis 1996). Each species lives in ecologically distinct habitats. However, 
there is always a degree of overlap between species and in many sites, two or three Myrmica or 
Lasius species occur in competition with each other (Elmes & Wardlaw 1982, Elmes et al. 1998). 
Myrmica rubra, the host ant of Maculinea nauithous, prefers a warm and moist habitat with only a 
low level of disturbance. This ant species occurs in rough grassy vegetation along edges of bogs, 
rivers and woods. Myrmica scabrinodis, to which Maculinea teleius is specialized, occurs in 
grasslands, bogs and moors. Generally, it is a slightly more thermophilous species compared to 
Myrmica rubra. The vegetation of Myrmica scabrinodis nest sites is mostly shorter and more 
open. Normally worker ants collect the food only relatively close to the nest site. The distances 
they walk are not more than about 2 m from the nest entrance for Myrmica scabrinodis and 5-6 m 
for Myrmica rubra. Myrmica scabrinodis usually stays on the ground. The workers explore their 
surrounding walking through the plants, under the litter and under moss cushions. Myrmica rubra 
also moves up into the vegetation, bushes and small trees like willows (Van Boven & Mabelis 
1986, Elmes et al. 1998). 
Lasius flavus is in its abundance and ecology comparable to Myrmica ants. The workers build 
very large nest moulds and are, like Myrmica species, sensitive to disturbance. Lasius niger is a 
rapid colonizer of disturbed grounds. It can stand high levels of disturbance and is a competitor of 
Myrmica ants. 
The Maculinea Action Plan 
The main objective of the Maculinea Action Plan is the facilitation of further dispersal of the 
reintroduced butterfly species to create a metapopulation. Hence the vegetation in the nature 
reserves and on grounds under public property, such as road verges, should be managed in a way 
that at first colonization by the host ant species and later by the Maculinea butterflies should be 
possible. Four actions are formulated: (a) adaptations in the management of nature reserves, (b) 
extensions of nature reserves, (c) adaptations in the management of for instance road verges, canal 
borders, ditch sides, embankments, and (d) monitoring of actions and effects. This paper 
concentrates on action (c). 
Adaptation in the management means mainly that areas are mown less often. It is of vital 
importance that occupied Maculinea habitat is not mown at all during the butterfly’s flight period. 
The eggs and early caterpillar instars would be removed, while they could be safely in the ants 
nests just some weeks later. Mowing only one side of road or ditch at a time can reduce the 
disturbance of mowing to the whole insect fauna. Especially for the benefit of Myrmica rubra 
strips of vegetation should be left unmown for one or two years. Furthermore rough vegetation 
with flowers should be mown only late in the year. 
Participants in the agreement of the Maculinea Action Plan are (a) the Municipalities of 
Heusden, ‘s Hertogenbosch and Vught, (b) State Forestry and "Natuurmonumenten", (c) Polder 
(Waterschap) de Maaskant, (d) Province of Northern Brabant, (e) Ministry of Agriculture, Nature 
Conservation and Fisheries, Department South, (f) Dutch Butterfly Conservation and (g) the 
localfarmers. 
MATERIAL AND METHODS 
In 1990, an intensive inventory of the Maculinea host plant Sanguisorba officinalis was carried out 
in the nature reserves and the agricultural landscape around Moerputten nature reserve 
(Oostermeijer & Wynhoff 1996). In the designated Action Plan Area (Fig. 1) 177 plots with host 
plants were selected for ant inventories. During 15 minutes we searched for ants in an area of 
about ten square metres around one or several Sanguisorba’s. On plots along roadsides we 
searched in the whole gradient from dry strips directly next to the asphalt until the humid bottom 
of the road side ditches. This way data for relative density of ant nests can be obtained while it is 
still possible to cover many plots in one season. In 1997 the management changes according to the 
Maculinea Action Plan started. In 2000 a new inventory of the ants was done to check whether 
there were effects of the changes in the mowing regime. 
 I. WYNHOFF, C.A.M. VAN SWAAY, A.M.H. BRUNSTING & J.G. VAN DER MADE 137 
 
 
Figure 1. Maculinea Action Plan Area in the Province of 
Northern Brabant. Black circles: nature reserves, white 
circles: villages and cities, black line: Action Plan Area 
RESULTS 
In 1996, on 38 from 177 plots no ants were found. In 2000 after three years of mowing according 
to the agreements of the Maculinea Action Plan, 65 from 178 plots were empty. 
This difference is significant (Pearson = 9.76, df=1, P=0.002). In general, on many plots also 
fewer ant nests were found compared to the beginning of the project. The changes in relative 
occupancy are not evenly distributed over all ant species (Fig. 2). The only significant decrease in 
the number of occupied plots was found in the species Lasius niger. Myrmica ruginodis also 
showed a slight decrease. Lasius flavus, Myrmica rubra and Myrmica sabuleti have increased their 
abundance, while Myrmica scabrinodis is stable. 
 
Figure 2. Changes in relative occupancy of plots with ants from 1996 (white bars) to 
2000 (black bars) in the Maculinea Action Plan Area (n=180). Significant changes 
were found in Lasius niger (P<0.0001) and Myrmica ruginodis (0.01<P<0.05) 
(Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test) 
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
L. niger L. flavus M. rubra M.
scabrinodis
M. ruginodis M. sabuleti
%
MoerputtenVlijmens Ven
Nieuwkuijk
Vlijmen
Engelenmeer
EngelenSompen en
Zooislagen
Haarsteeg
Hedikhuizen
Bokhoven
Vught
s Hertogenbosch
138 FAUNISTICS AND CONSERVATION 
 
 
Figure 3. Relative changes of occupation of ant colonies in the Maculinea 
Action Plan Area from 1996 to 2000. The maximum number of occupied plots 
of a species in 1996 or 2000 is set to 100 percent 
 
 
Fig. 3 gives some more details on the changes per species. Lasius niger has gone extinct in 
almost three times as much plots as it has been able to colonize. Per plot the number of colonies 
was also reduced compared to 1996. Extinctions and reductions in ant nest density were found in 
all regions of the Action Plan Area, with many of them on the road verges south of Moerputten 
nature reserve and the western part of Drongelens Kanaal. The colonizations also took place 
almost evenly distributed over the Action Plan Area.  
Lasius flavus and Myrmica rubra show an overall slight increase of occupied plots. Lasius 
flavus has gone extinct in relatively few plots, but was stable on many and colonized quite many 
plots. Myrmica rubra shows a different pattern with extinctions and colonization. This species has 
been stable on only a few plots. Almost all extinctions were found to have taken place on the plots 
of Ruidigerdreef south of Moerputten nature reserve and along Drongelens Kanaal. The 
colonizations were evenly distributed over the southern part of the Action Plan Area. Myrmica 
scabrinodis has experienced no overall decrease since 1996. The numbers of empty, colonized and 
stable plots are almost equal. All of them are distributed almost evenly over the area of 
investigation. Myrmica ruginodis and Myrmica sabuleti have both only been found in Moerputten 
nature reserve and the borders of Drongelens Kanaal. The maps of the distribution of the ant 
species are given in Wynhoff & Janssen (2000). 
DISCUSSION 
The first investigation of the ant fauna in the Maculinea Action Plan Area has shown, that Lasius 
niger is by far the most common ant species. A negative correlation between the nest densities of 
this species and Myrmica rubra and Myrmica scabrinodis shows that these species do not occur 
together but rather compete for habitat space (Oostermeijer & Wynhoff 1996). Changes in the 
management for the benefit of the Maculinea butterflies should therefore increase abundance and 
nest densities of Myrmica species (and Lasius flavus) while Lasius niger should decrease. 
Since the management of the road verges in the Action Plan Area has been adapted, the ant 
fauna has changed indeed. The mowing frequency has been reduced which resulted in less 
disturbance. The pioneer species Lasius niger is now less abundant than before and nest densities 
are reduced, too. The number of plots with Myrmica species has not increased. Therefore it seems 
like they have not been able to take over the empty space. However, the abundance of the ants has 
not changed equally in the whole Action Plan Area. For Myrmica rubra, newly colonized plots and 
plots with an increase in ant nest density are distributed equally over the whole study area, while 
the plots with extinctions are concentrated at two locations: the road verges directly south of the 
0
20
40
60
80
100
L. niger L. flavus M. rubra M.
scabrinodis
M. ruginodis M. sabuleti
%
gone in 2000
present in 1996 and 2000
colonized in 2000
 I. WYNHOFF, C.A.M. VAN SWAAY, A.M.H. BRUNSTING & J.G. VAN DER MADE 139 
 
Moerputten nature reserve (Ruidigerdreef) and a part of the canal borders of Drongelens Kanaal. 
These two sites were treated different from the others. The road verges of the Ruidigerdreef 
changed severely after the ditch sides were stripped off the vegetation and reconstructed. The 
original vegetation consisted of mainly Phragmites communis, in which there were many nests of 
Myrmica rubra and some Myrmica scabrinodis. These nests were used by the Maculinea 
caterpillars. On these verges the main subpopulation of Maculinea nausithous used to live until 
1996. Since the ditch side reconstruction, Myrmica ants are missing, as well as Maculinea 
butterflies. The borders of Drongelens Kanaal used to be mown but are grazed by sheep nowadays. 
Myrmica rubra is very sensitive to trampling. The reduction in nest sites of this species might be 
explained by the change in management. 
In general, the aims of the adaptations in the management of public property within the 
Maculinea Action Plan Area have been achieved. Except for two locations, a decrease of Lasius 
niger was found in combination with an increase in Myrmica species and Lasius flavus. Through 
the reductions in mowing frequency, more suitable sites for Maculinea nausithous and Maculinea 
teleius can be created. The more mobile M. nausithous can disperse better and found new 
subpopulations om the improved road verges. For M. teleius we expect positive effects only at a 
later term (Settele 1998). 
The great changes at Ruidigerdreef also show how vulnerable the implication of an agreement 
such as the Maculinea Action Plan is. Even though improvements in habitat quality can be 
achieved by the management changes of the agreement, local actions within the recent flight area 
of the Maculinea butterflies can still have tremendous effects on the affected subpopulations. At 
the moment the butterfly metapopulation system is still too small to compensate for that. Therefore 
it is still necessary to put further effort into the information and motivation of all participants of the 
agreement. 
Acknowledgments We want to thank Saskia Janssen, Gerard Oostermeijer, Maarten van Steenis and Roel 
Wanningen for their help with the field work, and Victor Mensing for GIS-analysis of the plot data. The 
Maculinea Action Plan and this investigation are funded by the Province of Northern Brabant. 
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Conservation of Maculinea butterflies at landscape level

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Conservation of Maculinea butterflies at landscape level

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