Today I had the chance to accompany two rangers and a researcher from Germany (yaay) to a forest area near Kerecsend. The researcher wanted to study the endangered butterfly species Scarce fritillary (Euphydryas maturna) (Wikipedia link for the ones interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarce_fritillary ;) ), or rather its caterpillars and habitat.
The Scarce fritillary occurs naturally in Eastern and Central Europe but only very locally, and the populations are widely scattered. Unfortunately, like so many species, it is critically endangered (partly due to habitat loss through forestry and due to the use of insecticides). In Germany, for example, there are only four different populations left. Hungary has a somewhat broader distribution, including in the Bükk National Park Directorate area near the small town of Kerecsend (about twenty individuals were detected in the last survey). For this reason, the researcher travelled all the way from Germany to get a picture of the habitats here.
So we searched for the caterpillars of the Scarce fritillary, which are usually found on ash trees and privets. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate again (why is it snowing in April ??), and the caterpillars were all hiding, so not even the specially trained species detection dog could find them.
All in all, however, it was an interesting (albeit freezing) afternoon during which I learned something new.
Finally, we warmed up with a coffee, and then it was time to call it a day!
