New butterfly species declared in Israel.

Jerusalem Fritillary named. 

June 2008. The beautiful orange-golden nymphalide was first discovered a hundred years ago, in 1908, by the German entolmologist Fruhstorfer who classified it as a subspecies named telona.

However scientific research conducted in recent years demonstrated that this butterfly is actually a distinct species and not a subspecies as previously thought. Israel's Environmental Protection Minister declared the new name chosen for the butterfly during the 25th anniversary of the Israeli Lepidopterists Society: Jerusalem's Golden Butterfly.

The minister reiterated the Environmental Protection's Ministry's commitment to biodiversity conservation: "Israel is located on a crossroads between three continents and is characterized by different climatic zones. It contains some 113 species of butterflies, despite its small size," said the minister. "The fast development and use of land threaten at least a quarter of these species of butterflies." The minister then called on the participants to help provide the best solutions for monitoring and conservation of the species, including currently endangered species.

The minister announced that within his authority to declare protected natural assets, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, along with other relevant bodies, is promoting the declaration of 14 species of butterflies as protected natural assets in order to provide added protection to endangered butterfly species.