A Species Action Plan designed to ensure it does not completely disappear from our nature has now been approved by the Czech Ministry of the Environment.

The action plan, supported by the European project Prospective LIFE, was prepared by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic (NCA CR) in cooperation with experts dedicated to this moth species.

Current Situation and Core Habitats

"The goal of the Species Action Plan is to help the eastern eggar survive and return it to places where it once lived naturally. That is why the ministry has now approved its action plan, similar to other species threatened with extinction," says Jan Šíma, Director of the Department of Species Protection and Implementation of International Commitments at the Ministry of the Environment.
The eastern eggar currently survives in a small number of localities in only four core areas in southern and south-eastern Moravia:
•    Podyjí National Park
•    The broader Pálava area
•    The White Carpathians
•    The Uherský Brod region

However, these populations are isolated from each other, their numbers are declining, and the future fate of this moth depends on targeted care and the protection of the places where it still occurs.

On a global scale, the eastern eggar moth is distributed across Central and Southern Europe, extending eastwards to Asia Minor and parts of western Russia. In neighbouring countries, its conservation status is highly unfavourable; the species is classified as critically endangered in Germany and vulnerable in Austria, while in Poland it was feared extinct after going unrecorded for nearly forty years, until a few isolated populations were recently rediscovered in the south-east of the country. In Slovakia, the population is somewhat more stable, with the species classified as near threatened, though it remains uncommon to rare and faces identical threats from habitat overgrowth.

Planned Conservation Measures

The eastern eggar primarily needs a diverse landscape. The Species Action Plan therefore counts on a combination of various small-scale measures:
•    Thinning out shrubs and clearing overgrown areas.
•    Ensuring extensive grazing and regular mowing.
•    Planting strips of suitable woody plants.
•    Conservation breeding and the targeted repatriation of moths or caterpillars into historical habitats.

A similar approach has already proven successful for another rare butterfly, the hermit (Chazara briseis), which is being successfully reintroduced into the wild.

Biological Challenges

The caterpillars feed mainly on blackthorn and hawthorn bushes. A major complication is that adult moths can only fly short distances:
•    Males fly a maximum of one kilometre.
•    Females remain more or less in one place.
This causes the remaining populations to be isolated and not interconnected, making them highly sensitive to any environmental changes.

Cooperation with Land Managers

"Experience from Austria and Germany shows that cooperation with farmers, winegrowers, and orchardists is key to saving the eastern eggar," explains Jindřiška Jelínková from the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic. "That is precisely why we want to focus on it – we are planning regular meetings with practical demonstrations of suitable land management, as well as excursions to places where these moths still thrive. This will help not only the eggars but also other plants and animals that need a similar environment to live," adds. 

Broader Context of Nature Protection

"There are currently fifteen national Species Action Plans for endangered species running, and thanks to them, we are succeeding in improving the population status of, for example, European ground squirrels, Aesculapian snakes, and gentians in our nature. The European project Prospective LIFE allows us to focus on other species as well – the first of which is the eastern eggar," states František Pelc, Director of the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic.

The priority of the Ministry of the Environment is to preserve the landscape in a state where it provides a home for the widest possible spectrum of flora and fauna. "We recently updated the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy of the Czech Republic, and we are now focusing on completing the National Nature Restoration Plan. A healthy and resilient landscape brings clear benefits to humans – it retains water better, helps mitigate the impacts of climate change, and also ensures food security," adds Director Jan Šíma from the Ministry.

Red List of Invertebrates (in Czech)

Eastern Eggar Species Action Plan (in Czech)

Photo Václav John