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The Zoתoיg ִתe ַבoְרg ַעrתaיpרhִ ֹפy ֲאof the Israeli Butterflies
from 1990 to 2022
In my Field Guide to the Butterflies of Israel (Keter Publishing House Jerusalem – 1990,
236 pp.), I wrote a special paragraph on the zoogeography of the Israeli butterflies based
on the chapter I wrote in Yom-Tov and Tchernov's book on The Zoogeography of Israel
(1988). More than three decades elapsed and we are already in the third decade of the 21st
century in the Anthropocene epoch (human period) where climate change is reflected in
global warming. Climate extremism is not only in the phenomenon of greenhouse gases
but also in the escalation of extreme events of tropical storms in our region alongside cold
winters and snow in the high mountains and in Jerusalem.
Butterflies as excellent bio-indicators reflect these changes in the composition of their
population; In Israel (excluding Mount Hermon); the Palaearctic component decreased
between 1990 and 2022 from 65.1% to 61.5%, while the tropical and desert components
increased from 21.7% to 23.7% and from 13.2% to 13.9% respectively. These numbers
clearly indicate the general trend of warming up while the southern Negev Desert ex-
panded northwards. The American Pygmy Blue (Brephidium exilis) that invaded Israel
from the Emirates via Saudi Arabia and Jordan in 2021 is the only Nearctic representative
in Israel.
A similar but larger percentage change has taken place on Mount Hermon, S Anti-Leb-
anon (peak at 2814 m); The palaearctic component decreased from 89.2% to 82.1%, the
combined tropical components increased from 7.6% to 13.7%, an increase of 80% and the
desert component increased from 3.2% to 4.3%, an increase of 34.4%.
Prominent examples: Junonia orithya (L.) a beautiful black-blue-white Afrotropical
nymphalid with red ocelli appeared at an altitude of 1650 m near the lower cable car ski
station laying eggs on local Plantago lanceolata while Pontia glauconome Klug a domi-
nant desert pierid was collected on a local peak at 2000 m near the crossing of Israel's
borders with Syria and Lebanon. The global warming trend is "pushing" all Hermon spe-
cies upwards as exemplified above. But the cold-adapted species at the summit, which are
also pushed upwards, are in an existential crisis because they have nowhere to go; over
their thresh-hold existence they are doomed to perish.
Summary: While the gradient of changes in Israel is in a latitudinal south-north direction,
in Mt Hermon the gradient of change is upwards. In both places there have been sig-
nificant changes in the composition of butterfly populations within a period of 32 years,
which is very short in terms of global - time.
2814m E D C BA
Sub. Alpine
Tragacanthic Zone
1950m
Open Montane Scrub Belt
1300m
East Mediterranean Forest
800m
A - Papilio machaon, Colias croceus B+A - Archon apollinus, Aporia crataegi
C - Pieris pseudorapae D+E - Parnassius mnemosyne, Colias libanotica
E - Aglais urticae, Pyrgus serratulae
Altitudinal zonation of Mt. Hermon: some typical species of the five altitudinal zones
u a ia i ro a st oru Benyamini & Avni, 2001 252
