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‫ית ֶה ְסֵּפ ִרית ַהׁ ַּש ְל ָה ִבית‬I‫ִב‬n‫ָה‬t‫ל‬rְ o‫ׁ ַּש‬d‫ ַה‬u‫ת‬c‫י‬t‫ר‬iִo‫ ֹפ‬n‫ֲא‬

More than 30 years have elapsed since the first publication of a Field Guide to the
Butterflies of Israel (Keter Publishing house Jerusalem, 1990, 236 pp.). For nature
and butterfly enthusiasts, academics and mentors in Israel, the Field Guide has be-
come a must-read book that has accompanied them on their journeys for butterflies.
In 2002 an updated fifth edition appeared when I added the Jordanian Butterflies
(248 pp.).

This guide is based scientifically and systematically on the Levant Butterfly series
excluding the butterflies of the Sinai Peninsula and Jordan, focusing only on the but-
terflies of Israel and the butterflies that I expect to arrive in Israel soon due to climate
changes. We provide the maximum information we currently have about their distri-
bution, flight periods, life history and host plants. Their behaviour is marked by 17
different symbols / modules.
Their conservation status was lately accessed in the Israeli Butterflies Red Book (Re-
nan et al., 2022) starting with LC - least concerned to the threatened categories; VU -
vulnerable, EN – endangered and CR – critically endangered. A few regionally extinct
spp. are marked by RE. We have marked our 14 protected species with a special
symbol. Other species that are highly threatened and need our help to be declared as
protected by law have been marked with appropriate symbol.

Many changes have taken place in the butterfly world of the Middle East and Israel;
The accelerated development has reduced significantly the open areas; herbicides
and insecticides have severely affected butterfly populations. These delicate, sensi-
tive and agile creatures responded quickly and retreated to more friendly areas that
allowed them to continue their life. But above all, the global climate crisis risks our
butterflies; Not only global warming but also increasing extreme natural phenomena
that have exacerbated the climate in our region; Warmer longer summers and the
shortened colder winters changed the phenology (flight period) of our butterflies*.
Alongside many species that are threatened and are in existential stress, southern
species that have been transported to the East Mediterranean with tropical storms
have begun to appear in Israel; Red Sea Troughs (RST) that originate in SW Arabia,
Ethiopia and Sudan advance northwards along the Red Sea / Rift Valley and ap-
pear more often and stronger; early spring North African hot depressions are moving
eastwards to our Mediterranean shores; rare trans-African jet stream that advance
diagonally from equatorial Atlantic CW Africa to the NE may descend before reaching
Southern Levant to a low level barometric hot high pressure (subsidence) and the
NW Indian Ocean cyclones that have intensified due to warming up of surface water
may bring huge amounts of rain to Rub-al-Khali desert and southern Arabia initiating
muli-billion Vanessa cardui migrations to the Levant, W Asia and Europe (Benyamini,
2019a, b, c & d).

Now in early 21st century, thorough systematic work has contributed to the discovery
of new species and subspecies in Israel, some of which appear here for the first time
alongside their publication in the Levant Butterfly Series. The classical classification
methods based on the external appearance of the butterflies and the genital analysis
of the males were enriched with DNA sequencing that were often given preferential
status in determining the identity of the butterflies. In this new guide, we have com-
bined the classic and new classification methods based on the work of global experts
in their field to determine the status of our butterflies. Thus, no less than four new
species and subspecies were "born" and cryptic / hidden species appear here for the
first time. Summary: Since the publication of my first guide in 1990 until the date of

Muschampia hieromax hieromax Hemming, 1932                               254
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