All five European Maculinea species occur in the Palaearctic region with their centre of distribution in Central to Eastern Europe. All Maculinea are in serious decline and are classified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as being either 'endangered' or 'vulnerable' at global and European levels (IUCN, 1990). Each species is named in the European Red List (VanSwaay & Warren, 1999), and three are listed in annexes of the Habitats Directive (Van Helsdingen et al., 1996; Table B 1).