Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 28.iii.2025

News

28.iii.2025: launch Chronicles Fluturat e Shqipërisë (CFeS).
CFeS is a journal dedicated to the study of the Lepidoptera in Albania.
The specific details of the journal are:
Home page: https://biodiversity.unitir.edu.al/Chronicles/Index.html
Zenodo repository: https://zenodo.org/communities/cfes/
Free for authors and readers.
Open Access.
Open peer review.
Published online, without embargoes.
Electronic only.
Archived in Zenodo.
Assigned DOI.
English only.
CFeS is a publication from Fluturat e Shqipërisë. Open Source Research on the Lepidoptera of Albania.
Looking forward to your research, manuscripts, comments, and suggestions.
Sylvain Cuvelier, Anila Paparisto, Xhuliana Qirinxhi and Eltjon Halimi.

05.iii.2025: new publication.
Parmentier L. & Qirinxhi X. 2025. Unexpected cryptic diversity revealed through integrative analysis within isolated populations of the Graylings (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) in the Western Balkans — Phegea 53(1) 22-38. (abstract)
This new article, currently under embargo until 2027 (accessed 01.iii.2025), examines the same Pseudochazara population that was recently described as subspecies P. tisiphone dibra (Cuvelier & Marafi 2025). However, the first author elevates the Dibër population to species level, naming it Pseudochazara misjai Parmentier, without implicating the second author in the scientific name.
Since one of the editors of Fluturat e Shqipërisë was involved in the first publication, the decision on its taxonomic status is left to the reader’s personal judgement.
Given the uncertainty in this grey area of subtle differences and the lack of data to apply the biological species concept, the subspecies level remains the current classification on the website, based on a cautious approach to avoid unnecessary species inflation and until more conclusive evidence is presented.

26.i.2025: new publication.
Cuvelier S. & Marafi AJ M. 2025. Status and conservation of genetic diversity in the disjunct populations of Pseudochazara tisiphone Brown, [1981], in Albania. — Archives of Western Palearctic Lepidoptera 2025(1): 71-78. (pdf) (url)
Pseudochazara tisiphone dibra Cuvelier & Marafi, 2025, ZooBank: https://zoobank.org/E8AC9881-7EDE-47A2-B1CF-067152352AAE

09.i.2025: major update of the website.

The actual update of the website includes new photographs (see Updates) for over 50 species.
Take a look at the courtship of Hipparchia fagi (Scopoli, 1763).
We are interested in your photos and video from 2025. Please send them to us!

The Atlas is updated with all the available observations till 31.xii.2024.
We look forward to reading and receiving your observations for 2025!


Coverage map of all the observations in 2024 (© Anila Paparisto & Sylvain Cuvelier, )

In 2024, Pelopidas thrax (Hübner, [1821]) was recorded for the first time.
If you observe P. thrax, please let us know, as we want to document its expansion as good as possible.
Your photographs of the butterfly and its habitat are welcome!

We also included a monograph for Limenitis populi (Linnaeus, 1758) as a potential species.
As far as known to us, the species has never been found in Albania but it was observed in 2024 nearby the border, in the Republic of Montenegro.
Surveying in moist forest areas with stands of Populus tremula in North Albania might bring a beautiful surprise!
L. populi is a large forest butterfly with a powerful flight.
During hot days, the butterfly can be seen mud-puddling on forest trails and feeding on rotten material and excrements but most of its time it roosts high in the canopy.
The females descend less often than males and are only rarely seen.
Similar looking forest species are quite smaller and there are no confirmed records from Albania for Neptis rivularis (Scopoli, 1763) and Neptis sappho (Pallas, 1771).
Who knows, you might also document these species during your future surveys in the North of Albania.

04.xii.2024: new species for Albania, Pelopidas thrax (Hübner, [1821]), the Millet Skipper.


1a. Pelopidas thrax upperside, Sarandë, Albania, 20.ix.2024 (© Andrea Angiari)


1b. Pelopidas thrax underside, Sarandë, Albania, 20.ix.2024 (© Andrea Angiari)
1c. Pelopidas thrax upperside, Tiranë, Albania, 11.x.2024 (© Wei Zhou)
1d. Pelopidas thrax upperside, Orikum, Albania, 27.ix.2024 (© Levente Horváth)


1e. Pelopidas thrax upperside, Sarandë, Albania, 02.x.2024 (© Nathalie Brenner)
1f. Pelopidas thrax underside, Sarandë, Albania, 02.x.2024 (© Nathalie Brenner)

16.xi.2024: new publication.
Qirinxhi Xhuliana et al. have published a new article:
A Perspective in the Study of Biodiversity of Order Lepidoptera in Albania: Case Study using the MRR Methodology.
International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies 4(2): 1533-1536.
(url)

30.x.2024: today is our first anniversary!
During our first year, we welcomed 3.044 visitors, from 80 countries and the mean engagement per visitor was 5 min 53 sec (source: Google Analytics).
We regularly received data from individual observations and surveys, photographs, questions about identifications and interesting suggestions.
We are very grateful to all visitors and contributors of this first year.
We hope to see you back on a regular base and welcome your new observations, photographs and potential suggestions.

	Country	# visitors	Country	# visitors
	Albania	691	Denmark	27
	Belgium	298	Portugal	23
	U.S.A.	256	Hungary	22
	France	208	Kosovo	22
	Netherlands	153	Ukraine	18
	UK	151	Croatia	17
	Spain	140	Serbia	17
	Greece	111	Slovakia	17
	Finland	106	Canada	13
	Italy	93	Belarus	12
	Austria	76	Slovenia	12
	Germany	72	Northern Macedonia	10
	Romania	69	Sweden	10
	Turkey	54	Indonesia	9
	Poland	46	Estonia	8
	Czech Republic	42	Puerto Rico	8
	Switzerland	33	Japan	7
	Bulgaria	31	Lithuania	7
	China	31	Kuwait	5
	Russia	29	Norway	5

With the results of the first year, Anila and I are optimistic that:
- we meet our initial goals.
- we will expand the information on the Papilionoidea of Albania.
- we will broaden the information to other Lepidoptera superfamilies.
- and we expect that this website will continue to open new doors for research of the Albanian butterfly fauna.

25.ix.2024: collaboration with the Drilon Tushemisht Waterscape Park Visitor Center in Pogradec.

17.vii.2024: Albanian butterflies receive attention on worldwide news-websites.
https://fr.news.yahoo.com/albanie-splendeur-mis%C3%A8re-papillons-062809772.html?guccounter=1
https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/science-nature/climate-change/20240704-196570/
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/natures-mirror-climate-change-batters-063638024.html

16.vii.2024: contribution of the workgroup to a publication about the delta of Vjosa.
Miho A., Bego F. & Beqiraj S. 2024. Vlerat natyrore dhe biodiversiteti i Deltës së Vjosës – gjendja sot dhe kërcënimet. Natural values and biodiversity of the Vjosa Delta - current situation and threats. Përmbledhje punimesh / Collected works. FShN, UT, Tiranë / FNS, UT, Tirana.
Content: https://fshn.edu.al/Info/delta-vjose
Chapter: https://api.fshn.edu.al/uploads/008_VJOSA_DELTA_Peqini_et_al_Terrestrial_insects_6dfb494cfe.pdf

18.v.2024: the new Atlas is online.
The Atlas 2024 includes the observations up to 31.xii.2023.
We thank Roger Vila (Butterfly Diversity & Evolution Lab, Barcelona, Spain) and Vlad Dincă (Lepilab, Oulu, Finland) for the DNA barcoding support of the 2023 samples.
An article is now in preparation to discuss the key points of the 2023 projects for the Papilionoidea, Zygaenidae and Sesiidae.

We look forward to your 2024 observations and are very grateful for your potential cooperation. Join us!
Different teams are again surveying in Albania during different periods of the year. The first projects have already started.
Without any obligation regarding the form of delivery of your observations, you can find here an Excel form to enter your data and forward it to Albania Atlas project.

21.iv.2024: works in progress on the website.
Ongoing adaptations to the scientific nomenclature are done without taking the website offline.
The figures in "Similar species" of some Monographs still require adjustments.
For more details, please check the status on the webpage, Updates.
The new Atlas is in preparation and will soon be available.

20.ii.2024: vulnerable status for Heteropterus morpheus.
The species was found for the first time in 2023 and is currently only known from one locality in the Has district.
In this habitait, this species is present at the limit of its southern range.
H. morpheus was added to the Red List (2022) as vulnerable (VU).

27.i.2024: latest observations from december 2023.
Butterfly sightings, during winter, are extremely uncommon in Albania. Yet, two sightings from the month of December reached us.
On 08.xii.2023 a Libythea celtis (Laicharting, 1782) was observed at Tarabosh, Shkoder and on 27.xii.2023 a Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758) was seen in the center of Tirana. Both butterflies were photographed as evidence of the unusual nature of the sightings for common Albanian species.
This phenomenon is observed all over Europe and was recently well documented in a study using long-term observation data of buterflies and moths from northern Austria showing clear phenological shifts (url).
We are interested in such data for Albania, please inform us about your winter sightings!

Libythea celtis, 08.xii.2023, Tarabosh, Shkoder, Albania (© Artan Trebicka) -- ---- -- ----- Vanessa atalanta, 27.xii.2023, Tirana city, Albania (© Anila Paparisto)

17.i.2024: the Association des Lépidoptéristes de France (ALF) dedicates a web page to our project Fluturat e Shqipërisë.
We are grateful to the ALF, Louis Diringer and Jean-Marc Gayman, for referring to our project.
ALF members are welcome to explore Albania and exchange their observations.
We will be happy to help them preparing their projects.

25.xi.2023: JEE | ES 2023 at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Belgium)
15h35: "Fluturat e Shqipërisë" by Sylvain Cuvelier (Grupi i punes Fluturat Universiteti i Tiranes)
Download the program.

30.x.2023: official launch of the website Fluturat e Shqipërisë
We wish to inform you of the official launch on October 30th by Prof. Anila Paparisto (Universiteti i Tiranës, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Departement of Biology)
See: Announcement and Reactions.

17.vi - 04.vii.2023: field research project.
The joint multidisciplinary field research project was a success, temporal and spatial gaps have been covered.
Participated to the field work in different areas: Xhuliana Qirinxhi (AL), Marko Prendi (AL), Anilla Paparisto (AL), Ana Nahirnić-Beskhova (BG), Mohammad AJ Marafi (Kuwait), Zdravko Kolev (BG), Eltjon Halimi (AL), Theo Garrevoet (B) and Sylvain Cuvelier (B).
The team is preparing a publication on the results.

Recent publications

(url) Prendi M., Paparisto A. & Cuvelier S. 2023. Proterebia phegea (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae): building bridges between relik populations of Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, and a new record from norther Albania. - Phegea 52(2): 59-64.

Blicher Bjerregård E., Bjerg M., Clausen A., Kaj K., Glintborg S. & Videnkjær C. 2023. Butterflies of Albania: new surveys, four new records and a new checklist (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea). — Phegea 51(2): 65–76.

(url) Cuvelier S. 2023. Albania, a country with unexpected, intraspecific genetic variability in butterflies (Papilionoidea: Nymphalidae & Lycaenidae). Balancing on a tightrope between species, subspecies, ESU's and haplotypes. - Lépidoptères 32(82): 32-40.