Parnassius apollo project LIFE Apollo2020

On Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the Czech partner JARO released 50 Parnassius apollo butterflies into the Krkonoše mountains! They set out to inspect the quality of the environment, which we have been preparing for them in cooperation with many partners for the third year as part of the LIFE Apollo2020 project.

David Číp from the International Conservation Group JARO told that the release of the Parnassius apollo into the wild was preceded by the modification of a selected and undisclosed location to suit the butterfly, which is at risk of extinction in the Czech Republic and abroad. The organizers of the project perceive this butterfly, which became extinct in the Czech Republic in 1935, as a symbol of the protection of mountain nature. In the 1980s, it was managed to return to Štramberk in northern Moravia, where a weak population still lives.

“Now, together with the KRNAP Administration, the Škoda Auto Foundation and other partners, we are trying to return him to Bohemia, where he last lived in the Krkonoše and Podkrkonoše about 100 years ago. We have been trying for the return of rare ash trees for the third year,” said David Číp. Last year, an attempt at the first test release of butterflies failed due to complications at the butterfly rescue station. “However, the breeding technology was modified, so this year the third generation hatched, which can finally go out,” said Číp.

Conservationists will observe whether the butterflies will thrive in the restored conditions of the Krkonoše nature. “The experts we work with believe that we have managed to restore the conditions for Parnassius apollo in the field to such an extent that it could be enough for the Apollos to stay in the place we are preparing for them after release,” said project coordinator Tereza Macečková from the Group JARO.

So far, conservationists have released only males, so that possible losses of difficult-to-bring individuals are as small as possible. “Females are the most valuable for further breeding. However, if the released males are kept, they start behaving naturally, looking for females that hatch only after the males in the wild, and they stay here for several days after release, the chances of their permanent settlement will be much greater,” said Číp.

According to him, next year it will make sense to release the females as well and try to move to the last final phase of the project, when the Apollos could start to reproduce in the wild. “At the moment, we are roughly half way there, although perhaps the hardest part is behind us,” said JARO Group butterfly breeder Miloš Andres. According to him, the breeding of rare species of butterflies is very demanding, even if it is “only” about rearing the eggs to the adult stage. The most demanding task, which takes several years, he identified as the preparation of the environment for the butterflies in combination with their release without the need for additional reinforcements from breeding.

Conservationists keep the butterflies secret instead of releasing them to prevent them from being caught by a collector. They wrote a number on the top of each butterfly’s wings. “It is both for the sake of records, but also for their protection. They are so worthless to potential collectors,” said Číp.

Last year, conservationists in the Krkonoše improved about a hectare of overgrown rocky terrain and already noticed the spread of rare species of flowering plants and insects, which occur sporadically in the Krkonoše due to lack of space. The project is also focused on the restoration of entire biotopes, taking care of Parnassius apollo helps to protect other sensitive species. “Hopefully the released males will give us hope that we are moving in the right direction and we will have the chance to meet this beautiful butterfly in the Krkonoše Mountains permanently,” added Radek Drahný, spokesman for the KRNAP Administration.

The practical part of the LIFE Apollo2020 international project to protect the Apollos, one of Europe’s most endangered butterflies, started in 2022 in several areas of Central Europe. The mission for his return to the Krkonoše Mountains is carried out by members of the JARO Group in cooperation with the Czech and Polish Krkonoše Mountains National Park, the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency and a number of other Czech and foreign organizations.

The mission for the return of the king of butterflies to the Krkonoše Mountains will be implemented from 2021 by members of the JARO Group in cooperation with the Administration of the Giant Mountains National Park, the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency, members of the Czech Entomological Society, employees of the Entomological Institute of the Biological Center of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and partner organizations from Poland, Czechia and Austria.

As our project continues, so does our centre (Education and information centre Bílé Karpaty) continue to create educational and teaching aids. But how to test if these tools work as we imagined? The best way, of course, is to try them out directly while working with the children for whom they are primarily intended. The best time for such a trial is when setting up the Apollo Gardens, which have been introduced on this website before (for example, in the article Two Apollo Gardens built).

We have managed to build four such gardens in the past year, each in partnership with a school. All four gardens are raised beds that we have constructed in a pre-selected location. The rest was up to the children. With undisguised joy and enthusiasm, the children became gardeners and filled the bed with soil and levelled its surface. They then placed larger and smaller stones, which they had brought themselves, on a part of the bed to create a small rock garden. They poured silica sand into the slits between the stones.

Then came the main thing. Since the Apollo Gardens are meant to be an environment for both adult butterflies and their caterpillars, the prepared bed needed to be enlivened with nectarous plants for the adult butterflies and host plants for the caterpillars. The children planted white stonecrop plants in the sand of the rock garden and randomly planted small common houseleek among them. Although it is not an important food plant for caterpillars, caterpillars can occasionally use it and it is a nice diversion to the rock garden. Next to the rock garden, the children planted great stonecrop – another important food plant for caterpillars.

What about the rest of the bed area? The children had already guessed that the flowering plants that the adult butterflies need to live would come here. We provided meadow plant mix seeds for this purpose. A significant part of this mixture consisted of seeds of the Apollo´s favourite plants (various pink and purple flowering plants) and the rest of the seeds were other meadow plants to make the bed more varied, attractive to other pollinators and to keep it flowering for as long as possible.

An indispensable part of creating each bed was the time we spent with the children talking about the life cycle of butterflies, their importance in nature and other things. Of course, we also introduced in detail our main hero, the Apollo butterfly, the reasons why it has disappeared from our nature and how we can help it. At this point it was also our turn to try out some of the tools we had already created. A great success was always achieved by the Apollo pupa, several meters long, which the children climbed through, and on the other side, an adult Apollo emerged from them. Equally enthusiastic was the preparation of a sweet drink (represented nectar in flowers for the adult butterflies) and tattoos with all the developmental stages of the Apollo.

We have not only used the tools and materials to build Apollo Gardens, but also at several other events for the public. The children enjoyed the activities and we believe they will not forget Apollo right away. Among other things, it was confirmed to us that even ordinary coloring according to a template still has its charm and can entertain children.

What is glyphosate?

Glyphosate is the active ingredient used in herbicides. It is used for example in Roundup, from which you may have heard because it is a globally used and discussed herbicide. Glyphosate is a chemical compound that inhibits a certain enzyme in plants and is used to kill plants that are seen as weeds, especially in agriculture. Agricultural crops can be genetically engineered to be glyphosate-resistant, enabling farmers to use it without damaging their own crops.  But it is also used in, for example, home gardening and weed control by local governments in cities and villages. 

Glyphosate was first brought to the market to be used as herbicide in 1974 as Roundup by Monsanto in the United States. Now, glyphosate is one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. 

Glyphosate, trains, and half-time

The Austrian railway company, Öbb, used glyphosate to keep the train tracks free from plants. From 2022 onwards, they adapted an environment-friendly strategy of using glyphosate-free products. Where in 2021 Öbb used 5.3 tons of glyphosate on the train tracks, in 2022 this was zero. 

An interesting fact about glyphosate is that its ‘half-life’ (the time needed to reduce the initial amount by half) is typically about 47 days in the field (although this varies dependent on the type of soil). But if we take into account the 47 days, this would mean that now in the beginning 2024, two years later, there is only little glyphosate from the 5.3 tons of glyphosate sprayed in 2021 left, because the initial amount has halved about 17 times!  

Good news for P. Apollo and other insects

The decision to go glyphosate-free by the Öbb is good news for insects in Austria. Glyphosate not only destructs suitable habitats for butterflies and insects by killing the plants they feed and lay eggs on, it also impacts the fauna on a more chemical level. 

Glyphosate inhibits the production of Melanin, which is a pigment found in all life kingdoms. Melanin plays an important role in a diverse range of biological functions. For example, we produce melanin in our skin to for UV protection. In insects, melanin plays a crucial role in the immune system. During melanization (the process of making of melanin), several chemical components resulting from this process are used to defend the organism from harmful bacteria, fungi, and other pathogens. The inhibition of melanization leads to a higher susceptibility to pathogens in insects and thereby increasing mortality and decreasing population sizes.

The inhibition of melanin is only one reason why glyphosate is harmful for insects. Studies suggest that there are even more pathways of how glyphosate use leads to increased insect mortality. This highlights why it is such good news for P. Apollo and other insects that Öbb stopped using glyphosate.

Rest of Europe?

The debate in Europe about the use of glyphosate is still ongoing. Unfortunately, the European Commission has reauthorized the herbicide for another 10 years. There are several initiatives going on to legally challenge this decision, such as this one by the Pesticide Action Network Europe.

In Austria, the government voted for a partial ban on glyphosate in 2021, meaning that there is a usage ban in ‘sensitive’ areas and for private use. However, the professional use of glyphosate, including agriculture, remains allowed. 

Hopefully, more companies will independently decide to stop using glyphosate, just as Öbb did!

Do you want to know more about the effect of glyphosate on insects? Leave a comment!