History of research
Study
of the fauna of butterflies in Armenia began in the late twenties of the
nineteenth century, when from Kindermann and Haberhauer the first verified material enters into scientific
exchange (unpublished archival materials of Moscow Society of Naturalists).
Somewhat later, as a result of expeditions to Armenia the 40 species of
butterflies have been listed (Lederer 1852, 1860, 1864, Nordmann 1851, Eversmann 1851,
Ershov 1870, Staudinger 1871). Following this, N.M. Romanov (Romanoff 1884) in «Les Lèpidoptéres de la Transcaucasie» provides at least 142 species of butterflies, registered in the territory of Armenia. A work that summarizes the studies on the butterfly fauna of the nineteenth century in Armenia, can be considered the catalog of O. Staudinger and H. Rebel (Staudinger and Rebel 1901) «Katalog der Lepidopteren der Palaearktischen Faunesgebietes». From the works of the early twentieth century, it is necessary to mention the work of K. Lampert (Lampert 1911-1913) «Atlas of Butterflies in Europe and part of the Russian-Asian holdings", which contains some information on butterflies Caucasus.
The period following the political changes in Russia and the Caucasus was marked by works, in which the main emphasis was on the study of agricultural pests and the development of methods of their control, whereas during this period (from 1917 to the thirties of the twentieth century) any significant works have not been dedicated to study of butterflies of Armenia. However, during this period, and later the accumulation of material on the Rhopalocera of Armenia was continued. Thus, intensive collection of butterflies were carried out by a number of researchers, such as: S.K. Korb, G.A. Gamburtsev, G.S. Kotshubej, V.V. Sovinsky, B.P. Tkachukov, M.A. Ryabov, L.A. Sheljuzhko, A.V. Tsvetaev, Y.P. Nekrutenko.
Their materials have formed a solid foundation for the establishment of regional lists, atlases and a series of papers on the systematic. Some useful information on the taxonomy of butterflies on the fauna of Armenia were published in major catalogues and reports on the butterflies of the world (Smart 1976), butterflies of Europe (Higgins & Riley 1970), on the butterflies of Turkey (Hesselbarth et al. 1995). An iconic work was the atlas of Y.P. Nekrutenko "Butterflies of the Caucasus", that was including 34 species of Armenia (Nekrutenko 1990).
In 1995-1996, a book by Y.P. Korshunov and P.Y. Gorbunov "Butterflies of Asian part of Russia", was released that brings together information on 432 species, including 182 from Armenia (Korshunov and Gorbunov 1995). V.K. Tuzov in his catalog (Tuzov 1993) greatly expanded the list of species of butterflies mentioning 879 species for USSR, including 199 species of Armenia. The information on fauna of butterflies of Armenia was used by V. Tshikolovets and Y.P. Nekrutenko for preparation of the most comprehensive field guide on butterflies of Caucasus and Transcaucasia (2012).
There are no numerous works on specifically on the fauna of butterflies of Armenia. S.A. Vardikyan (1959) in her book "Butterflies of Armenia" (in Armenian) results in 64 species. In 1982 a book "Rare insects" (Mirzoyan 1982) was published and contains information on 15 species occurring in the territory of Armenia.
Finally, sufficient details on vulnerable species of butterflies of Armenia are given in the recent publication of the Red Book (Aghasyan and Kalashyan 2010) that includes 24 species of butterflies.
Ershov 1870, Staudinger 1871). Following this, N.M. Romanov (Romanoff 1884) in «Les Lèpidoptéres de la Transcaucasie» provides at least 142 species of butterflies, registered in the territory of Armenia. A work that summarizes the studies on the butterfly fauna of the nineteenth century in Armenia, can be considered the catalog of O. Staudinger and H. Rebel (Staudinger and Rebel 1901) «Katalog der Lepidopteren der Palaearktischen Faunesgebietes». From the works of the early twentieth century, it is necessary to mention the work of K. Lampert (Lampert 1911-1913) «Atlas of Butterflies in Europe and part of the Russian-Asian holdings", which contains some information on butterflies Caucasus.
The period following the political changes in Russia and the Caucasus was marked by works, in which the main emphasis was on the study of agricultural pests and the development of methods of their control, whereas during this period (from 1917 to the thirties of the twentieth century) any significant works have not been dedicated to study of butterflies of Armenia. However, during this period, and later the accumulation of material on the Rhopalocera of Armenia was continued. Thus, intensive collection of butterflies were carried out by a number of researchers, such as: S.K. Korb, G.A. Gamburtsev, G.S. Kotshubej, V.V. Sovinsky, B.P. Tkachukov, M.A. Ryabov, L.A. Sheljuzhko, A.V. Tsvetaev, Y.P. Nekrutenko.
Their materials have formed a solid foundation for the establishment of regional lists, atlases and a series of papers on the systematic. Some useful information on the taxonomy of butterflies on the fauna of Armenia were published in major catalogues and reports on the butterflies of the world (Smart 1976), butterflies of Europe (Higgins & Riley 1970), on the butterflies of Turkey (Hesselbarth et al. 1995). An iconic work was the atlas of Y.P. Nekrutenko "Butterflies of the Caucasus", that was including 34 species of Armenia (Nekrutenko 1990).
In 1995-1996, a book by Y.P. Korshunov and P.Y. Gorbunov "Butterflies of Asian part of Russia", was released that brings together information on 432 species, including 182 from Armenia (Korshunov and Gorbunov 1995). V.K. Tuzov in his catalog (Tuzov 1993) greatly expanded the list of species of butterflies mentioning 879 species for USSR, including 199 species of Armenia. The information on fauna of butterflies of Armenia was used by V. Tshikolovets and Y.P. Nekrutenko for preparation of the most comprehensive field guide on butterflies of Caucasus and Transcaucasia (2012).
There are no numerous works on specifically on the fauna of butterflies of Armenia. S.A. Vardikyan (1959) in her book "Butterflies of Armenia" (in Armenian) results in 64 species. In 1982 a book "Rare insects" (Mirzoyan 1982) was published and contains information on 15 species occurring in the territory of Armenia.
Finally, sufficient details on vulnerable species of butterflies of Armenia are given in the recent publication of the Red Book (Aghasyan and Kalashyan 2010) that includes 24 species of butterflies.
Acknowledgements to Contributors
Implementation of the project Butterfly Conservation Armenia would hardly be possible without comprehensive help by colleagues and friends (Andreev S., Arutyunyan K., Avakyan S.A., Bolt D., Brereton T., Chuvilin A., Danchenko A., Dhellemmes T., Ertevtsyan E.K., Gascoigne-Pees M., Gorbunov O., Hagopyan N., Hambartsumyan V., Jost B., Karagyan G., Kazaryan P., Khachatryan H., Marjanyan M., Nikolayevski V., Pape C. R., Plyush I., Simek K., Tikhonov V., Verovnik R., Yeranyan K., Zhdanko V., Ziegler H.), as well as volunteers (see our Facebook group Butterfly Conservation Armenia), each of those made a feasible contribution in building of the database, providing records, photos, lacking information and help in preparation of species accounts.
Also we would like to express our gratitude to S. Hovhannesyan (former Arevik National Park), R. Petrosyan (former Shikahogh State Reserve), V. Barseghyan (Khosrov Forest State Reserve ), A. Petrosyan (Lake Arpi National Park), S. Muradyan (Dilijan National Park), A. Gndoyan (Sevan National Park), S. Baloyan (Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia), M. Kalashyan (Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology NAS RA), administration of AUA, J. Acopian and H. Acopian (Acopian Foundation), Z. Galyan (Armenian Ecotourism Association), D. Haroutunyan, A. Martirosyan (UNDP Armenia), T. Eberherr and C.Schulz (GIZ Sustainable Biodiversity Management), D. Wallis (Whitley Fund for Nature; WWF UK), J. Cole, J. Raimond (Rufford Small Grant Program), for financial and administrative assistance.
Particularly we wish to acknowledge C. van Swaay (Dutch Butterfly Conservation), M. Warren (Butterfly Conservation UK), I. Wynhoff (Dutch Butterfly Conservation), J. Settele (UFZ), M. Wiemers (UFZ), for the significant assistance and the time they have dedicated for the project giving valuable recommendation during implementation of the works. Beside that we express particular gratitude our colleagues A. Aghasyan (Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia) and K. Manvelyan (WWF Armenia) for their multiple assistance in our work.
Also we would like to express our gratitude to S. Hovhannesyan (former Arevik National Park), R. Petrosyan (former Shikahogh State Reserve), V. Barseghyan (Khosrov Forest State Reserve ), A. Petrosyan (Lake Arpi National Park), S. Muradyan (Dilijan National Park), A. Gndoyan (Sevan National Park), S. Baloyan (Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia), M. Kalashyan (Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydroecology NAS RA), administration of AUA, J. Acopian and H. Acopian (Acopian Foundation), Z. Galyan (Armenian Ecotourism Association), D. Haroutunyan, A. Martirosyan (UNDP Armenia), T. Eberherr and C.Schulz (GIZ Sustainable Biodiversity Management), D. Wallis (Whitley Fund for Nature; WWF UK), J. Cole, J. Raimond (Rufford Small Grant Program), for financial and administrative assistance.
Particularly we wish to acknowledge C. van Swaay (Dutch Butterfly Conservation), M. Warren (Butterfly Conservation UK), I. Wynhoff (Dutch Butterfly Conservation), J. Settele (UFZ), M. Wiemers (UFZ), for the significant assistance and the time they have dedicated for the project giving valuable recommendation during implementation of the works. Beside that we express particular gratitude our colleagues A. Aghasyan (Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia) and K. Manvelyan (WWF Armenia) for their multiple assistance in our work.
Authors:
Karen Aghababyan
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Gurgen Khanamirian
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