Viel-Falter Butterfly and Moth Monitoring
The Viel-Falter Monitoring is a monitoring program for butterflies and moths in Austria. It started in 2018 with butterfly surveys in Tyrol and was implemented in Vorarlberg in 2020. In 2023 the monitoring was expanded to the whole of Austria with the Insect Monitoring Austria: Lepidoptera that also includes night surveys for moths. Butterflies are surveyed on 400 sites distributed over grassland habitats in Austria. On 80 of these sites, moths are surveyed as well. One fourth of the sites is surveyed each year in a rotational scheme using standardized monitoring methods.
While Austrian butterflies are well represented in barcoding libraries, data is still missing for many moth species. In the scope of the monitoring program, DNA barcodes from moths will be sequenced to fill current gaps in the data. Due to the representative site selection, the monitoring covers a wide range of habitats in different bioclimatic regions of Austria and can provide material from species that are currently underrepresented.
Project lead
Dr. Johannes Rüdisser (University of Innsbruck, Department of Ecology)
Dr. Peter Huemer (Tyrolean State Museums)
Project staff
Friederike Barkmann (University of Innsbruck, Department of Ecology)
Valérian Gouëset (University of Innsbruck, Department of Ecology)
Project status: active
The Insect Monitoring Austria: Lepidoptera is implemented by the Department of Ecology of the University of Innsbruck in cooperation with the Natural History collection of the Tyrolean State Museums. It is financed by the Federal Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management (BML).
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