O. Merkl szerk.: Folia Entomologica Hungarica 66. (Budapest, 2005)

INTRODUCTION The Aggtelek National Park is located at the North Hungarian Mountain Range (ÚJVÁROS

Y 1998), near to the Hungarian-Slovakian border. The National Park has a varied terrain and flora. It is basically wooded; 60% of the natural vegetation consists of forests, 20% of steppe meadow, 5% is rupicolous grassland, 5% is wetland, and 10%? is cultivated (VARGA etal. 1998,2000). This territory lies partly under the rain-shadow effect of the higher mountains of the Slovakian karst, thus the climate of the lower karstic plateaux proved to be somewhat drier and warmer than it would result from the geographical situation. The higher plateaux and their valleys, being in direct territorial contact with the higher regions of the Slovakian karst, display the manifold effect of the fauna of the Carpathians (VARGA 1999). The former arable lands and orchards were mostly abandoned, hence extended secondary grasslands and hedges have developed by oldfield succession. Extended patchy habitats have been developed which are covered by mosaic-like stands of broad-leaved trees (mostly Quercus spp., and Carpinus betulus), numerous species of scrubs, clonal forbs, tall-forbs and grasses. The semi-dry swards of the area proved to be extremely rich in species, botanically and entomologically, as well (VARGA 1997, VARGA-SÍPOS & VARGA 1997, VARGA etal. 2000). The fauna of the Aggtelek National Park shows a characteristic composition of species and also a high species diversity, due to the transitional position of this area between the biogeographical provinces Pannonicum and Carpathicum (VARGA 1995,1997). Because the extension of nature-like and semi-natural habitats has remained considerable, several ecological corridors are functioning, which are suitable to transmit the faunal changes caused by climatic fluctuations (VARGA 1997, VARGA & SZABÓ 1997). There are only scarce records on Lepidoptera species in the collection of the Hungarian Natural History Museum from this area before 1958. Systematic collectings of Lepidoptera were started in 1958, with the discovery of faunistically interesting species (VARGA 1961, 1963). A complete list of the Lepidoptera species, collected between 1958 and 1997 in the Aggtelek karst area with discussion on the composition, habitats, frequency, population dynamics and biogeographical connections is presented in VARGA (1999); an enumeration of 1079 Macrolepidoptera species is also given. Important faunistical results, based on personal collectings, were published by GYULAI et al. (1974, 1977, 1979). Light-trap survey started in 1970 at the local karst research station, but in some years also in other places (Szelcepuszta, Szin, Tornanádaska). Due to the systematic collectings, this region has become an intensively explored area of the country (GYULAI 1983, VARGA 1999, VARGA & GYULAI 1978, VARGA & SZABÓ 1997).