In the cooperation of experts from the Natural History Museum in Karlsruhe, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and lepidopterists from Austria, after almost 100 years, a species of night butterfly called the Balkan mountain frost was found again on Mount Vlašić, the National Museum announced.
The Balkan mountain frost moth, the moth with the scientific name Lignyoptera thaumastaria (from the Greek thaumastos = wonderful, amazing) is a dream species for butterfly researchers.
Only a few mountains in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro where it was recorded are known. This species lives high on the mountains in the meadows in the zone above the forest border and appears only after the first autumn snows have melted. The wings of the males are distinctly yellow and pink, while the flightless females are almost wingless.
Only a few specimens of this moth were found in Bosnia and Herzegovina on three occasions: in 1901, 1903 and 1937. A more recent observation from 1982 exists only from Montenegro. Since no one found it for so long, it was thought that this species might be extinct.
At the end of October 2023, a group of experts led by Robert Trusch, a butterfly expert from the Karlsruhe Natural History Museum, launched an expedition with the aim of rediscovering the species. Since the beginning of dusk, experts have been searching the Vlašić mountain range near Travnik, an area above the forest border at heights between 1550 and 1750 m.
