Tracking the decline of the once‐common butterfly: delayed oviposition, demography and population genetics in the hermit Chazara briseis

Large populations, seemingly not at risk of extinction, can decline rapidly due to alteration of habitat. This appears to be the case of the butterfly Chazara briseis , which is declining in all of Central and Eastern Europe, even from apparently large areas of its steppe grassland habitats. We combined mark–recapture, allozyme electrophoresis and adult behaviour observation to study the last remaining metapopulation of this once‐widespread...