Abstract
The decline in semi-natural habitat is posing a threat to several grassland insect species, including the silver-studded blue butterfly, Plebejus subsolanus ssp. iburiensis, which is listed as a “nationally rare species of wild fauna in Japan”. We investigated the effects of mowing on the larvae and adults stages of P. subsolanus in the same population in a conservation area, aiming to identify effective habitat management for this species and all coexisting butterflies. We surveyed the number P. subsolanus larvae and adults, host plant characteristics, butterfly abundance, species richness, and flowering plant metrics in both mowed and unmowed areas. Larvae only appeared in the mowed area, and the cover and height of host plant were significantly higher in the mowed area. P. subsolanus adults and butterfly abundance were higher in the mowed area. No statistical differences were observed in the butterfly species richness, inflorescences and species numbers of flowering plants, or the vegetation height between the mowed and unmowed areas. Mowing has a positive effect on P. subsolanus larvae and adults, while it has a limited effect on reducing vegetation height. The negative correlation with butterfly species richness, flowering plant species, and inflorescences underscores the need to maintain optimal vegetation height in these areas, to control excessive vegetation growth.
Implications for insect conservation
Our results show that mowing conducted concurrently with the pupal stage and egg stage could be effective in the conservation management of butterfly and floral communities, including P. subsolanus and its host plants.
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Data availability
The data used in this study are available from the authors on request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Japan Self-Defense Force, the Engaru Town Maruseppu Education Center, and the non-profit organization Maruseppu Insect Club for their cooperation. Dr. Kenta Iwasaki has been of great help in setting up the study and in preliminary research. We thank Editage for English language editing.
Funding
This work was supported by the Hokkaido Research Organization, JSPS KAKENHI Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant Number 21H02221), the Environment Research Technology Development Fund (JPMEERF20224M02) of the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency provided by the Ministry of Environment of Japan, and by Pro Natura Foundation Japan's 31st and 33rd Pro Natura Fund.
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All authors conceptualised and designed the study and all of them participated equally in collecting the data in the field. The first draft of the manuscript was written by MH, NN, and AO. All statistical analysis was performed by MH, NN, and AO. GK, YU, NK, and KK commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript.
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Hayamizu, M., Nakahama, N., Ohwaki, A. et al. Effect of mowing on population maintenance of the endangered silver-studded blue butterfly, Plebejus subsolanus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae), throughout its life cycle in Japan. J Insect Conserv (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-024-00552-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-024-00552-9