The Metamorphosis project focuses on the conservation in three Member states (Slovakia, Hungary and Romania) of butterfly species listed in Annexes II and IV of the EU Habitats Directive. In Romania the 15 targeted species are: Colias myrmidone, Callimorpha quadripunctaria, Euphydryas aurinia, E. maturna, Eriogaster catax, Lopinga achine, Lycaena dispar, L. helle, Phengaris (Maculinea) arion, P. nausithous, P. teleius, Parnassius mnemosyne, P. apollo, Pseudophylotes bavius, Zerynthia polyxena.
The project will also target restoration of habitat type 6210 Semi-natural dry grasslands and scrubland facies on calcareous substrates (Festuco-Brometalia) (*important orchid sites in many SCIs targeted) that are also home to many target species of the project (Colias myrmidone, Phengaris species, Parnassius apollo), as well as other important pollinators (such as wild bees, wasps, hoverflies, bee-flies, moths).
Colias myrmidone is a special focus of the project in central Romania, one of the last strongholds of this species whose population is rapidly declining across central Europe.
The project will carry out best practices in habitat management, and concrete restoration activities directly targeting populations of these species. It will bring nature back to agricultural land and improve high biodiversity features. It contributes to halting pollinator decline and improving connectivity of the network of protected areas. Farmers and other stakeholders will be included into decision processes, direct restoration and management of habitats, to ensure sustainability of results.
Conservation of these landscapes will be carried out using a holistic approach, by preserving the whole assemblage of landscape elements (grassland, scrub, forest, water bodies, trees and tree lines). This applies especially where butterfly species with different management requirements co-exist in an agricultural landscape: maintenance of mosaic management and connectivity is required.
The project recognises and will harness the vital role of local communities, as the mosaic management and sympathetic husbandry carried out by small-scale farmers provides the complex and heterogeneous management required.
The project will promote citizen science in monitoring, and bottom-up approach to designation of protected areas, measuring and integrating the value of nature in project areas, and will also transfer the knowledge (including for policy makers) and replicate results to other areas of occurrence of these species.
The project will integrate Slovakia and Romania in the European Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.
