Vig Károly: Zoological Research in Western Hungary. A history (Szombathely, 2003)
134 Phylum Arthropode! Of the rarer species mentioned in their survey, SÁRA NÓGRÁDI and ÁKOS UHERKOVICH emphasized the ones with a limited distribution, making them typical of particular areas. This applies to those tied to marshes, above all Oligotricha striata, which was collected at Szőce, Magyarszombatfa and Szalafő. Otherwise, only one or two specimens have been found in Hungary, in the Zemplén and Bükk hills. Anabolia brevipennis is somewhat more widespread, but most of the specimens have been found in the Őrség. Also restricted to Western Hungary is Rhadicoleptus alpestris, which is positively abundant in the Őrség. A similarly characteristic species of the Őrség is Limnephilus elegáns. The Őrség has also provided most of the Hungarian specimens of many Hydroptilida, such as Hydroptila tineoides, H. occulta and Ithytrichia lamellaris. The authors re-emphasized the presence of Hungary's most valuable caddis fly, Platyphylax frauenfeldi, whose first Hungarian specimen was found in the Őrség, since when it has also occurred in eight other Hungarian locations. Incidentally, it has disappeared throughout Europe, so that the Hungarian populations are the only ones known in the last decade. For that reason, it was placed on the list of protected species in 1993 and its habitats require strict protection as well. 49 They also mentioned the ample populations of Chaetopteryx rugulosa in the West Hungarian border region, in Szőce and vicinity, and in the Kőszeg Hills. Like most members of the Chaetopteryx genus, however, its distribution is extremely narrow. So far, there remain in the Őrség strong populations in small, unregulated, unpolluted, ion-poor watercourses such as the Szőce and Vadasa brooks. Another aspect of importance is the exceptional diversity of the collections at Magyarszombatfa and Szőce. Along with the rare species and perhaps more valuable still are the extremely varied Trichoptera assemblages in the area. Of the 14 legally protected species, four occur in the Őrség (Oligotricha striata, Limnephilus elegáns, P. frauenfeldi and C. rugulosa). SÁRA NÓGRÁDI and ÁKOS UHERKOVICH have also prepared a computer database of the more than 500,000 caddis-fly specimens they have collected in the last twelve years, so that their relative abundance can be expressed numerically (NÓGRÁDI and UHERKOVICH 1995b). Only 59 caddis-fly species have been recorded in the Fertő-Hanság National Park. These do not include any protected species, but there are two endangered species (Agraylea multipunctata and Ceraclea fulva) among them and ten vulnerable species (Glossosoma boltoni, Hydroptila dampft, Hydropsyche instabilis, Trichostegia minor, Agrypnia pagetana, Phryganea bipunctata, Limnephilus xanzhodes, Lepidostoma hirtum, Ceraclea aurea and Mystacidea azureus). A further 15 species are presumed to be vulnerable. This species count is rather low, mainly because of the fairly uniform stretches of water and the low level of research done into the local caddis flies. The actual number has been estimated at a much higher 70-75 species (UHERKOVICH and NÓGRÁDI 2002). Order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) Study of Lepidoptera in Hungary began in the second half of the 18th century. NÓGRÁDI, S., and A. UHERKOVICH 1994. Protected caddisflies in Hungary. Braueria 21:25.
