The importance of calcareous grasslands for butterflies in Europe

Although the biological diverstity of calcareous grasslands is renowned, an overview of the distribution of characteristics butterfly species is lacking. This review shows that calcareous grasslands rank as the most species-rich habitat in Europe with 274 species reported. At the same time a similar proportion of threatened and unthreatened species is present but the proportion of endemics (16%) is comparatively low. More detailed information is necessary to identify hotspots as targets for conservation. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.