Overview
- BUND and the BUND NRW Naturschutzstiftung, in consultation with butterfly researchers, announced the designation on November 20.
- The small, cinnamon-brown butterfly occurs mainly in southern Germany and reaches a wingspan of up to 33 millimeters.
- As a specialist species, it depends on the great burnet (Großer Wiesenknopf) for nectar and egg laying and on the Knotenameise ant for its larval development.
- Larvae are carried into Knotenameise nests, feed on ant brood, pupate there, and emerge as adults the following summer.
- Great burnet stands have declined with more intensive grassland use, while knot ants are scarcer as soils dry, shrinking the butterfly’s habitat and population.