Assessing the conservation status of diurnal Lepidoptera in the Vesuvius National Park

The conservation status of the species collected and observed in the Vesuvius Na-tional Park (VNP) and included in the Red List of Italian butterflies has not been monitored for 17 years; therefore, there is currently no knowledge of how the bio-diversity and populations of Rhopalocera have changed over these years. A list of 72 species of Lepidoptera with diurnal behaviour is reported. Five species are men-tioned for the first time for the Park. Catocala puerpera (Giorna, 1791) is men-tioned in Campania for the first time. Of particular interest are the findings of: Eu-plagia quadripunctaria (Poda, 1761), this specie is included in European Com-munity Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC); Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1898, alien specie of South Africa origin; Glaucopsyche iolas (Ochsenheimer, 1816), that is considered "almost threatened" following IUNC Red List.