The Mont Avic – Mont Emilius Massif (NW Italy): a confirmed butterfly hotspot (Lepi-doptera, Papilionoidea)

Species inventories are fundamental to understanding biodiversity and guiding con-servation efforts. This study presents the first comprehensive butterfly (Papilionoidea) checklist for the Mont Avic – Mont Emilius Massif (Northwest Italy), a Special Protect-ed Area within the Natura 2000 network. The area includes four additional Special Areas of Conservation and the Mont Avic Natural Park. Data collected between 2019 and 2024 confirmed 140 taxa of butterflies out of 146 total for the area, these last representing 50.3% of the Italian fauna. The butterfly community includes: i) two new species for the Aosta Valley region (Apatura ilia and Neptis rivularis); ii) 17 newly recorded taxa for the study area; iii) four species of conservation concern listed in the European Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC (Phengaris arion, Parnassius apollo, Euphy-dryas aurinia, Zerynthia polyxena); iv) a significant proportion of species endemic to the mountains of Southern Europe (11.6%), particularly within the genus Erebia (15 species). Additionally, we provide distributional, ecological or conservation insights for 28 taxa of particular interest.