The Maculinea exhibit a very low tolerance to environmental change while displaying highly specific ecological requirements

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	Grasslands

	Throughout Europe recent decades have witnessed a marked decline in Lepidoptera on grasslands (Pullin, 1995; J. Thomas, 1996; Schneider & Fry, 2001, Wynhoff, 2001). This comes as little surprise considering that European semi-natural meadows and pastures have concurrently declined due to the breakdown of low intensity farming such as cattle grazing and hay-making which play an essential role in the conservation of many meadows and their biodiversity. ©Sarah Gwillym Inula meadow ©Sarah Gwillym Centaurea meadow with Argynnis paphia		©Sarah Gwillym Inula meadow The modern alternatives: agricultural intensification (the use of fertilisers, drainage or increased mowing) or even scrub encroachment through abandoned hay meadows (Falk, 1994) leave little scope for grassland biodiversity. Hence, the decline in grassland butterflies is often attributed to changes in grassland management. ©Sarah Gwillym Issoria lathonia
	As a result there is an urgent need to reverse the trend of fragmented grassland habitats and to conserve the biodiversity of endangered European grasslands. 60 % of all European plant and animal species are insects and inevitably this enormous Class has declined far more rapidly in modern European landscapes than any other known taxa (Thomas & Morris 1994; Van Swaay & Warren 1999). With the economic importance of agriculture, the drainage of fens, intensification of farming practises and increasing urban sprawl, grasslands have become increasingly endangered with a mosaic of modified landscapes remaining. With such trends occurring on a European-wide scale it is sensible to adopt a European approach to remedy the problem.
	©Sarah Gwillym Mesophile grassland		Only recently however has European legislation recognised the biodiversity value of grasslands and reverted some of their conservation efforts to the restoration of grassland habitats. The EU Habitats Directive (Council of the European Communities 1992), NATURA 2000 and the Convention on Biological Diversity are all recent strategies developed to protect priority European habitats including endangered grasslands from further habitat loss and fragmentation, reinforcing protective legislation and promoting the sustainable management of such habitats.
	©Sarah Gwillym Maculinea nausithous		©Sarah Gwillym Grassland facing development
	Within the framework of MACMAN we are assessing the suitability of Maculinea butterflies as bioindicators to assess the quality of grassland habitats throughout Europe. The response of these extremely sensitive and highly specialised butterflies to changing grassland habitats could be a crucial indicator to employ corrective measures in grassland management and to mitigate any adverse effects from anthropogenic habitat manipulation. This should be a pressing priority for conservation given that most grasslands are neither protected sites nor nature reserves.