Monitoring of saproxylic beetles in Croatia: following the path of the stag beetle

As a member of the European Union, Croatia is obliged to report on the conservation status of 220 animal non-bird species listed in the annexes of the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), for which purpose a monitoring system is being established. Concerning saproxylic beetles, seven species present in its territory have to be monitored: Lucanus cervus, Cerambyx cerdo, Morimus funereus, Rhysodes sulcatus, Cucujus cinnaberinus, Rosalia alpina and Osmoderma eremita complex. Out of these species, a monitoring programme has only been established for Lucanus cervus, which partially includes participation of non-experts. In 2015 and 2016, a public campaign was organised in order to collect observations of Lucanus cervus and two other saproxylic beetles that are easily recognisable by the public: Morimus funereus and Rosalia alpina. Data gathered through this campaign serve as an addition to the mapping activities and monitoring of the species' range. So far, more than 650 citizen observations have been collected, providing data on species presence in 216 10×10 km² grid cells intended for reporting on the species' range. Besides the public campaign, since 2014, public institutions for managing nature protected values have been involved in population monitoring for which they received education through several workshops. Altogether, 21 sites have been included in the monitoring of the stag beetle so far. Data collected for Lucanus cervus on standard transects, by tree and ground pitfall traps and tree trunk surveys at night will be discussed. To the present time, eight public institutions have been involved in stag beetle population monitoring and the number has been continuously increasing.