Species

BackPararge xiphioides Staudinger, 1871

Pararge xiphioides Staudinger, 1871

Canary Speckled Wood

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Coleoptera
  • Family: Nymphalidae
LC Least Concern
IUCN Red List Status:

Countries of Occurrence:
Spain - Canaries

Archipelago(s):
Canaries

Assessor/s:
van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. & Settele, J.

Reviewer/s:
Lewis, O. (Butterfly RLA) & Cuttelod, A. (IUCN Red List Unit)

Contributor/s:

Facilitators / Compilers/s:


Assessment Rationale:

This species is listed as Least Concern, since it has not been declining by more than 25% in the last ten years and its population size is probably larger than 10,000 adult individuals.

Geographic Range:

Restricted to the Canary Islands Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Gomera and La Palma. Its elevational range is 200-2,000 m. This is a European endemic species.

Regions:
Spain - Canaries
Extent of Occurrence (EOO):
(km2)
Area of Occupancy (AOO):
(km2)
Elevation Lower Limit:
200 (m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
2000 (m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Paleartic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Canaries
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

A local species, restricted to (semi-) natural areas on the Canary Islands.

Habitat and Ecology

The Canary Speckled Wood is a typical woodland butterfly. It can be found throughout the year in laurel and chestnut forests. The caterpillars' foodplants are grasses that grow in woodland and damp grassland, such as false-bromes (Brachypodium spp.), cock’s-foot (Dactylus spp.), Luzula forsteriOryzopsis miliaceaAgrostis tenuous and Carex divulsa. Detailed habitat descriptions are not available.

Major Threat(s):

Although this is a European endemic with a restricted range, this species is not believed to face major threats at the European level.

Conservation Actions

This species occurs in a number of protected areas across its range. No specific conservation actions are needed at a European level. But since it has a restricted global range, its distribution and trend should be monitored closely, for example by a Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. More research to distribution and ecology is needed.