GERANIUM BRONZE, CACYREUS MARSHALLI BUTLER, 1897 – 
NEW BUTTERFLY SPECIES FOR FAUNA OF SERBIA 
(PAPILIONIDEA: LYCAENIDAE)
Slađana Mil o jk o v ić , Mihailo v u jić *, Milan Dju r ić , ivan To T
HabiProt, Cankareva 9/13, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia
*Corresponding author; e-mail: mihailovujic01@gmail.com
Abstract – Butterfly species Cacyreus marshalli was recorded on o ctober 1, 2020 in
the city of Niš, which represents the first record in the territory of Serbia. it is also the
first allochthonous butterfly species in Serbia and its discovery brought the number
of species in Serbian fauna to 200. The specimen was identified from the photograph
submitted to a Facebook group, which indicates significance of such social network
groups which bring together insect lovers and enthusiasts of citizen science, especially
regarding registering of invasive and allochthonous species.
k e y w o r DS: allochthonous species, citizen science, l ycaenidae, social networks
Izvleček – Pe l Ar Go Nije v BAk r e NČe k , CACYREUS MARSHALLI Bu Tl e r ,
1897 – No v A v r STA Me Tu l j A v FAv Ni Sr Bij e (PAPil io NiDe A: l y -
CAe NiDAe )
Metulj Cacyreus marshalli je bil zabeležen 1. oktobra leta 2020 v mestu Niš, kar
je prva najdba na ozemlju Srbije. je tudi prva tujerodna vrsta metulja v Srbiji in
njegovo odkritje zvišuje število vrst v srbski favni na 200. Primerek je bil določen s
fotografije, objavljene v Facebook skupini, kar kaže na pomen takšnih družabnih
omrežnih skupin, ki združujejo ljubitelje žuželk in navdušence za ljudsko znanost,
posebno pri beleženju invazivnih in tujerodnih vrst.
k l ju ČNe Be Se De : tujerodne vrste, ljudska znanost, l ycaenidae, družabna omrežja
Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1897 is an African butterfly species from the family
l ycaenidae, native to Mozambique, South Africa, l esotho, Swaziland, Zambia and
Zimbabwe (Clark & Dickson 1971; Heaths et al. 2002). The first record of the species
in e urope came from e ngland in 1978, when caterpillars were found (Heaths et al.
121
ACTA ENTOMOLOGICA SLOVENICA
LJUBLJANA, JUNIJ 2021                Vol. 29, øt. 1: 121–124

2002). The first adult C. marshalli was recorded in Balearic islands in 1990 and after
that it spread over a large part of the continent, primarily in Mediterranean region
(Sarto i Monteys 1992). For countries in vicinity of Serbia it was recorded in Slovenia
and Croatia in 2008, while in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro it was recorded
just in 2016 (k osmač & v erovnik 2009; v erovnik et al. 2011; k učinić et al. 2014;
Glavendekić et al. 2016; k oren & k ulijer 2016; Franeta 2018). Actually C. marshalli
was observed in Montenegro already in 2015, but that record remained unpublished
(Stojanović D. Z., pers. comm.).
Caterpillars of this butterfly feed primarily on Pelargonium spp., and those are
commonly cultured decorative plants both in Serbia and e urope. Quacchia et al.
(2008) examined if there was a possibility for that species to become a threat to au-
tochthonous Geranium spp. feeding butterflies, and concluded that C. marshalli larvae
could develop on these plants, and that in absence of Pelargonium, they lay eggs on
Geranium. C. marshalli could therefore potentially compete with autochthonous
species such as Aricia nicias Meigen, 1830 and Eumedonia eumedon (e sper, 1780)
(Quacchia et al. 2008).
o n o ctober 21, 2020, the first author, Slađana Milojković uploaded photos of C.
marshalli to Facebook group “Лептири Србије (l eptiri Srbije, Butterflies of Serbia)”.
Photographs were taken 20 days earlier in Niš, one of Serbian cities. o nce specimen
was identified from the photograph, other authors contacted the first author and
inform her it was an invasive species, not previously recorded in Serbia. The discovery
of this invasive species, but also numerous other invasive and unrecorded species
being reported on social networks indicate significance of social network groups that
bring together amateurs, enthusiasts, photographers, and all other people interested
in certain group of organisms (Gonella et al. 2015; Skejo et al. 2016; r ahayu &
r odda 2019). The record was entered into Alciphron database (Miljević et al. 2014).
Cacyreus marshalli (Fig. 1).
The first record in Serbia: Niš, Palilula, near Gymnasium Svetozar Marković
(Decimal Degrees: l atitude: 43.312538 l ongitude: 21.886389), 1.10.2020., specimen
photographed by S. Milojković, on green area. in the vicinity of the place where the
specimen was photographed, Gymnasium garden, old cemetery and numerous green
areas are present. As in other parts of Serbia, Pelargonium spp. are common and
often cultivated plants.
A single specimen was photographed on flowers of invasive plant Erigeron annuus
(l .) Pers., in the urban part of Niš, largest city in southern Serbia. Previously there
were 199 butterfly species registered in Serbia, so recording of this species brought
the total to 200 (Popović & v erovnik 2018). This is also the first allochthonous but-
terfly species recorded in Serbia. Possibility of appearance of C. marshalli in Serbia
was predicted by many, and specifically was mentioned in Glavendekić & Čavlović
(2019) based on the research of damage this butterfly caused in Montenegro. C. mar-
shalli is a thermophilous species so it is likely it will not be able to form stable pop-
Acta entomologica slovenica, 29 (1), 2021
122

ulations under continental climate of Serbia. Butterfly’s host plants, Pelargonium
spp. are however very common decorative plants in Serbia, in most cases cultivated
indoors during winter.
References
Clark, G. C. & Dickson, C. G. C., 1971: l ife histories of the South African ly-
caenid butterfies. Purnell, Cape Town & l ondon, Xv i. 270 pp. 
Franeta F., 2018: Checklist of the butterflies (l epidoptera: Papilionoidea) of
Montenegro. Zootaxa 4392 (1): 128-148. 
Glavendekić, M., Vemić, A. & Mujezinović, O., 2016: Prvi nalaz Cacyreus
marshalli Butler (l epidoptera: l ycenidae [sic]) u Crnoj Gori i Bosni i Hercegovini.
in: Zbornik rezimea radova XV Simpozijuma o zaštiti bilja. v ol. 29. Društvo za
zaštitu bilja Srbije, Zlatibor, pp. 66. 
Glavendekić M. & Čalović D., 2019: Prilog poznavanju biologije Cacyreus mar-
shalli Butler (l epidoptera: l ycaenidae). in: Zbornik rezimea radova XII Simpozijuma
entomologa Srbije sa međunarodnim učešćem. Niš, pp.61. 
Slafiana Milojkoviå, Mihailo Vujiå, Milan Djuriå, Ivan Tot: Geranium bronze, Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1897 – new butterfly
123
Figure 1: First specimen of Cacyreus marshalli registered in Serbia from the city
of Niš (photo: S. Milojković).

Gonella, P. M., Rivadavia, F. & Fleischmann, A., 2015: Drosera magnifica
(Droseraceae): the largest New w orld sundew, discovered on Facebook. Phytotaxa
220 (3): 257-267.
Heaths, A., Newport, M & Handcoock, D., 2002: The Butterflies of Zambia.
American Butterfly r esearch institute & The l epidopterists’ Society of Africa,
Pretoria pp. 137. 
Koren T. & Kulijer D., 2016: New or interesting records of three butterfly (l ep-
idoptera: Papilionoidea & Hesperioidea) species from Bosnia and Hercegovina and
Croatia. Natura Croatica 25(2): 321-326. 
Kosmač, M. & Verovnik, R., 2009: First record of Cacyreus marshalli (l y-
caenidae) from the Balkan Peninsula. Nota lepidopterologica 32(1), 81–82.
Kučinić, M., Randić, M., Mihoci, I., Koren, T., Mrnjavčić Vojvoda, A., Lauš,
B. & Burić, I., 2014: Contribution to knowledge of the distribution of the Geranium
Bronze Cacyreus marshalli (Butler, 1898) (l epidoptera, l ycaenidae) in Croatia with
note on ecology and ethology. Entomologia Croatica 18(1-2), 49–57. 
Miljević, M., Tot I. & Đurić M., 2014: Alciphron – Database of insects of Serbia:
l epidoptera, Papilionoidea. HabiProt, Novi Sad. Available from:
https://alciphron.habiprot.org.rs (accessed 24 10. 2020). 
Popović, M. & Verovnik, R., 2018: r evised checklist of the butterflies of Serbia
(l epidoptera: Papilionoidea). Zootaxa 4438(3):501-527.
Quacchia, A., Ferracini, C., Bonelli, S., Balletto, E. & Alma, A., 2008: Can the
Geranium Bronze, Cacyreus marshalli, become a threat for e uropean biodiversity?
Biodiversity and Conservation, 17:1429–1437. 
Rahayu, S. & Rodda, M., 2019: Hoya amicabilis sp. nov. (Apocynaceae, Ascle-
piadoideae), from java discovered on Facebook. Nordic Journal of Botany 37 (12). 
Sarto i Monteys, V., 1992: Spread of the Southern African l ycaenid butterfly,
Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1898, (l e P: l ycaenidae) in the Balearic Archipelago
(Spain) and considerations on its likely introduction to continental e urope. Journal
of  Research  on  the  Lepidoptera 31(1-2): 24-34.
Skejo, J. & Caballero, J. H. S., 2016: A hidden pygmy devil from the Philippines:
Arulenusmiae sp. nov. – a new species serendipitously discovered in an amateur
Facebook post (Tetrigidae: Discotettiginae). Zootaxa 4067 (3): 383-393. 
Verovnik, R., Polak, S. & Seljak, G., 2011: Pojav in širenje tujerodne vrste
dnevnega metulja – pelargonijevega bakrenčka (Cacyreus marshalli (Butler, 1898))
v Sloveniji. Acta Entomologica Slovenica 19 (1): 5-16.
Received / Prejeto: 28. 10. 2020
Acta entomologica slovenica, 29 (1), 2021
124

Slafiana Milojkoviå, Mihailo Vujiå, Milan Djuriå, Ivan Tot: Geranium bronze, Cacyreus Marshalli Butler, 1897 – new butterfly
125

Acta entomologica slovenica, 29 (1), 2021
126
Navodila avtorjem
Acta entomologica slovenica je glasilo Slovenskega entomološkega društva Štefana
Michielija in Prirodoslovnega muzeja Slovenije. o bjavlja izvirna znanstvena dela,
pregledne članke in ocene knjig s področja entomologije. Članki lahko obravnavajo
favnistiko, sistematiko, ekologijo, etologijo, fiziologijo ali zoogeografijo žuželk.
Pisani naj bodo v slovenskem ali angleškem jeziku, z obveznim angleškim in
slovenskim izvlečkom. Članki so strokovno recenzirani. l etno izideta dve številki.
Avtorje prosimo, da se pri oblikovanju člankov zgledujejo po zadnji številki revije.
Če je le mogoče, svoj tekst pošljite po elektronski pošti ali oddajte na digitalnem
nosilcu. izpis članka na papirju naj ima dvojne presledke med vrsticami, da je možno
popravljanje. r isbe naj bodo kontrastne, pri debelini črt pa upoštevajte tudi morebitno
pomanjšanje na format revije. Slike naj bodo v izvirnih datotekah, če jih oddajate v
elektronski obliki.
Citirana literatura naj se navede na koncu članka in naj bo razvrščena po abecedi
glede na priimke avtorjev. 
Avtorji člankov dobijo članek v elektronski obliki.
Instructions to authors
Acta entomologica slovenica is the journal of the Slovenian e ntomological Society
Štefan Michieli and the Slovene Museum of Natural History. it publishes original
scientific works, overview articles, and book reviews in the field of e ntomology.
Articles may deal with faunistics, systematics, ecology, etology, physiology, or
zoogeography of insects. They may be written in Slovene or e nglish, with abstracts
in e nglish and Slovene (the editors will ensure translations into Slovene). All articles
are reviewed. Two issues are published a year.
w e ask all authors to model the layout of their manuscripts on a previous issue of
the journal. if possible, send the text by e-mail or on a digital carrier, as well as on
paper with double spacing between lines. Drawings must have high contrast. Please,
consider that all line widths may be reduced during layout of the issue. Pictures should
be in their original files if prepared in digital form. 
r eferences should be listed at the end of the article in the alphabetical order of the
authors’ names. 
e lectronic version of the article will be sent to the Authors.

Slafiana Milojkoviå, Mihailo Vujiå, Milan Djuriå, Ivan Tot: Geranium bronze, Cacyreus marshalli Butler, 1897 – new butterfly
127

Acta entomologica slovenica, 29 (1), 2021
128