| Maculinea
alcon arenaria
|
HOME |
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| Kingdom |
Animalia |
Unknown
copyright licence.
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| Phylum |
Tracheophyta |
| Class |
Insecta |
| Order |
Lepidoptera |
| Family |
Lycaenidae |
| Genus |
Maculinea |
| Species |
Maculinea
alcon |
| Subspecies |
Maculinea
alcon arenaria |
| Authority |
Lemke, 1942 |
| |
| English
Name |
Dutch Alcon Blue,
Dune Alcon Blue |
| Dutch
Name |
Duingentiaanblauwtje |
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| Taxonomy |
The
taxonomic status of this subspecies is still unclear. The international
opinion is that the Alcon Blue doesn't have any subspecies. In 2004 (and
before) this endemic Dutch subspecies was listed on the Dutch Red list as
Globally Extinct, now because of this taxonomic uncertainty it might be
removed from the next updated list. More taxonomic research is needed. (MinLNV
2004)
International research during the
last decades revealed that in many European countries, the Maculinea
species using Cross Gentian (Gentiana cruciata) as a foodplant
should be considered as Mountain Alcon Blue (Maculinea rebeli).
This opened the possibility that the Dutch subspecies of the coastal dunes
was in fact a subspecies of Maculinea rebeli, so adding a new
species to the list of Dutch butterflies. However, the European project
MACMAN has shown that there is in fact no genetic difference between Maculinea
alcon and Maculinea rebeli, so all of these butterflies are Maculinea
alcon. (Van Swaay 2004)
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| Lifestyle |
This
butterfly was active during the day and could be seen flying in mid to
late summer. |
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| Range
& Habitat |
 This
subspecies of the Alcon Blue was endemic to the Netherlands, where two
populations were known. One in Meijendel (dunes north of The Hague) and in
Meije (in the neighbourhood of Woerden and the Nieuwkoopse Plassen). This
lycaenid butterfly lived in relative nutrient poor dune grasslands with
foodplants. The Dutch Alcon Blue had the Cross Gentian (Gentiana cruciata)
as foodplant in the dunes in Meijendel, like the Mountain Alcon Blue (Maculinea rebeli),
which don't occurs in the Netherlands. The Dutch Alcon Blue in the Meije
used the Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe) as foodplant, the
same as the Alcon Blue subspecies Maculinea alcon ericae, which
also occurs in the Netherlands. (Wikipedia contributors 2007)
Image: map showing the possible
previous range of the Dutch Alcon Blue (in red). Created by Peter Maas
for The Extinction Website. This
image has been released under
the Creative
Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives 3.0 Licence.
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| Food |
The
Alcon Blue (Maculinea alcon) feeds on nectar of Cross-leaved Heath
(Erica tetralix) and Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe).
The Dutch Alcon Blue (Maculinea alcon arenaria) also fed on nectar
of Cross Gentian (Gentiana cruciata). |
| |
| Reproduction |
The
Dutch Alcon Blue had a myrmecophilous relationship with ants, the
caterpillars after the third moult are taken by ants will stay and fed in
the ant nest. It is not
known which ant species the Dutch Alcon Blue used. The remaining
subspecies Maculinea alcon ericae has a myrmecophilous relationship
with the species Myrmica scabrinodis and Myrmica ruginodis. |
| |
| History
& Population |
Little is known
about this subspecies. It has always been a very rare butterfly. This
subspecies disappeared in the Meije in 1975 and in the dunes of Meijendel
it disappeared in 1979. The extinction of this last population in the
Netherlands meant the global extinction of this Alcon Blue subspecies. (Wikipedia
contributors 2007)
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| Extinction
Causes |
Change
in vegetation, with the subsequent growth of shrubs and trees, and drying
out of areas, the Cross Gentians lost its function as foodplant. The
Dutch Alcon Blue is very sensitive for changes in vegetation structure during the
depositing of eggs.
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| Conservation
Attempts |
This
subspecies is classified as 'globally extinct' on the Dutch red list of
butterflies. Because of this the creators of this list conclude that
conservation measures aren't possible anymore. (MinLNV 2004) |
| |
| Museum
Specimens |
Specimens of the
Dutch Alcon Blue are kept in the collection of the University of Amsterdam
and a smaller number in the National Museum of Natural History 'Naturalis'
in Leiden. As far as I know there are no photographs of living of this
butterfly.
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| Relatives |
In
the Netherlands another Alcon Blue subspecies still occurs, namely the
Heath Alcon Blue, Maculinea alcon ericae. |
| |
| Links |
Maculinea
alcon arenaria - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Beschermingsplan
Gentiaanblauwtje 2003-2007
Besluit
Rode lijsten flora en fauna, 5 November 2004 (pdf, 512 kB)
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References
(Complete
website)
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MinLNV.
2004. Besluit
Rode lijsten flora en fauna (5 November 2004). Ministerie van Landbouw,
Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit. (Decision Red lists flora and fauna, Dutch
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.)
Van Swaay, C. 2004. New and lost
butterflies. Vlinders (November 2005). De Vlinderstichting (Dutch
Butterfly Conservation).
Wikipedia contributors, "Maculinea
alcon arenaria," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maculinea_alcon_arenaria&oldid=94734886
(accessed November 17, 2007).
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Last
updated: 6th September 2008.
This
page is a part of The
Extinction Website.
© 2000-2009. |