Tomares romanovi (Christoph, 1882) 
Romanov's Hairstreak, Червонец Романова, Ռոմանովի թոմարես. 

Distribution and biological peculiarities in Armenia: 
The species is distributed in Armenian Highland, Georgia, Kopet-Dagh. Armenia is inhabited by nominate subspecies. The species inhabits calcareous grasslands and arid mountain steppes, usually dominated by tragacanth locoweeds. Host plant is Astragalus finitimus, although for Kopet Dagh the Astragalus schahrudensisis known. The species is specialized to feed on flowers of the host plant, and the female lays down the eggs on the flower buds. In Armenia it is distributed mainly in Central and Southern regions, where it occupies elevation range from 1200 to 1600 m a.s.l. Flight period lasts from mid April to mid June, depending on elevation, in single generation. 

Population dynamics:
The species occurs with low to medium abundance within a typical habitat, however during counts it is important to take into account that it has specific behavior - usually stays in close vicinity of the host plant (especially females). In the studied period it shows moderate decline (p<0.05). The host plant probably suffers from overgrazing in two ways: directly and due to total degradation of habitat and erosion. 

Conservation measures: 
The species has not been evaluated for IUCN Red List as well as for Red Book of Butterflies of Europe. Also it is not a subject of CITES or Bern Convention. It was evaluated for the Red Book of Animals of Armenia and was considered as Vulnerable. At current some portions of the populations of the species are protected in Khosrov Forest State Reserve, and Gnishik Community Protected Area. Two populations of the species which have not been covered by Arevik National Park are included now in Gudemnis, Gnisheek, Ourtsadzor, and Shvanidzor PBAs, also the significant portion of its population is included in Gnishik PBA. In their turn the mentioned PBAs are in the process of being included in the network of Emerald Sites. Continuation of the monitoring of the species is a necessary measure to track further dynamics of its populations. Further grow of PBA network and development of butterfly-watching with strong support of community service is another important conservation tool that can decrease the load on the grassland ecosystems and support in stabilization of population trend. 

Photo: C.R. Pape