The Natural History of Burnet Moths (Zygaena Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae)

Preface to Part 3
'I have the feeling I will never have these books in my hands' was an often spoken sentence of the senior author during the last ten years of our work on this project; especially when the necessity of conceptional changes arose and the dim light at the end of the tunnel grew weaker again. Originally thought as an ecological addition to the intended monograph handbook which Clas M. Naumann had announced to write after retirement, we could focus our research and concept until the end of the 1990s to aspects mainly concerning the life-histories of burnet moths. 'Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs' (G. Ebert, ed.) was the conceptional model at that time. Only photographs of living moths (preferable taken in the wild) and the preimaginal stages should be figured and the text should mainly deal with these stages.
However, when it became more and more probable that this handbook would never appear - definitely so after 15. ii.2004 when Clas passed away - we realised that our species chapters could not be added to an already existing general frame. Now we had to develop a completely new concept. The title mutated from Life History to Natural History and several new chapters had to be envisaged. But this was just one of the main reasons for the lengthening project until at last publication of Part 1 in 2017. The decision to figure the important genitalia structures of all the species and to generate georeferenced maps and plates of set specimens, as well as personal fate and changes to our family circumstances and the PhD of W. Gerald Tremewan (2000–2003) were other events which forced us time and time again to extend our schedules.
Finally on 28th of April 2017 Part 1 of 'The Natural History of Burnet Moths' was published and Gerry's pessimistic apprehension had changed to fact. After more than a quarter century of work on these books a few months were missing to let him have at least the satisfaction of holding the first part in his hands. On 1 October 2016 the senior author, W. G. Tremewan, passed away (Hofmann, A. 2017; Hofmann A., Spalding, A. Tarmann G. & Witt T., (eds.), 2017; Spalding A., 2017; Morton, G., 2017; Carter, D., 2017; Young, M., 2017;   Sattler, K., & Vane-Wright, R. I., 2017). Our common friend Adrian Spalding immediately and very kindly offered help in this project-critical moment. Without hesitation he took over the responsibility for the final editing of the english text of the forthcoming parts. Of course, there can be no doubt that this cannot be an equivalent substitute, as Gerry did not only master the language but also the subject.
The basic text for Part 3 was written between 2005 and 2013 but many data, records of current fieldwork, new publications and personal observations of colleagues had to be incorporated. The 200 plates figuring 5841 set specimens and the transcription of labels took up a considerable amount of time, as did the gathering of geo-information, the endless feeding of a database and the generating of maps, pictures and captions. The greatest problem now, however, was missing feedback from and discussion with Gerry, and the improvement by common ideas.
On 28. i.2019 our publisher Professor Dr h. c. Thomas J. Witt passed away quite unexpectedly (Schwarz & Gusenleitner 2019; Hausmann 2019, 2020), a tragedy not only for these books but for the science of lepidoptera diversity and especially for palaearctic Bombycoidea. Nevertheless, it was clear that our project will go on. This was not a question of duty, pledged word and promises; it was and still is the vested interest of the junior author to bring this monograph to an end. Moreover, an encouragement to go on came from the numerous benevolent reviews (vide p. 1020) and many positive feedbacks of colleagues on Part 1.
The now presented Part 3, the species section, grew to a voluminous amount of pages. Instead of   400–500 pages, as originally intended, it expanded to more than twice the size. Weight and binding made a division into two books, 3.1 and 3.2, necessary. However, both books form one unit and consequently exhibit continuous pagination and one index (at the end of each book), while the bibliography is placed at the end of Part 3.2. Thanks to Verena Witt, eldest daughter of Thomas Witt, the family of Thomas Witt and the Thomas-Witt- Foundation and its supporters (vide page 1097) it was possible to keep the price for these two books at the same level as for Part 1!
A set of three typical specimens as an overview for determining the species and for quickly finding the right pages for all 108 species is provided twice, i. e. at the beginning of Part 3.1 (pp. viii–xvi), and at the beginning of Part 3.2.
The taxonomic division of higher categories (species-groups, subgenera) as dealt within these books is listed on double-page 6 and 7 and optical marks on the left and right side of each page lead the reader to the species-groups with blue colours for Mesembrynus, green to orange for Agrumenia and orange to red for Zygaena.
Now that Part 1 and 3 are published the work will go on with Part 2 which will comprise 14 more chapters (vide 1/5, 6) dealing with hibernating strategies and reproductive biology, phenology and voltinism, dispersal and colonization, aposematism and mimicry, parasitoids and Mendelian genetics, rearing burnets in captivity and - last not least - conservation and national responsibilities. Two more years are calculated, thus making a date of publication in 2023 realistic.
After completion of these two books I finally found the reason for such a lifelong deal with this subject. Now I definitively know that it was not the unquestionable beauty of the moths, signalling their toxicity with their unforgettable colours, or the wonderful co-operation with unforgettable friends. It was (and still is) the beauty of their habitats. When I regard the herein presented pictures of biotopes I feel great yearning for these places of silence with the smell of Artemisia, thyme and other herbs, to the spring flowering Mediterranean maquis and the scabious-rich landscapes in Anatolia, to the Stipa-steppe of North Africa, the light clearings in Transcaucasian forests and the cushion zone in the vicinity of snow-fields in high mountains of Iran and Afghanistan. During 50 years of fieldwork everything has changed but nothing for the better. Many of my habitats are destroyed, sometimes not even retrievable anymore. On most pages I cannot hide a feeling of nostalgia, or even more, a melange of melancholy and sadness. The many pictures in these books may let the reader participate in my naive longings for retrotopia.
The substantial decline in insect populations, including burnet moths, is an indisputable fact. All our personal observations, taken together with information and data collected by authorities over time, unambiguously confirm what we have become aware of more and more during recent decades. The abundances of populations have decreased, in some areas they have dramatically collapsed; many habitats have changed or have even become completely destroyed and with them the populations. Now that this subject is being more openly discussed, we have become increasingly aware of these trends. However, except for limited small scale efforts, we cannot see any current serious global action being taken that encourages us to feel optimistic about prospects for the future. If we were to begin working on these books today, we would be unable to bring them to completion in the same way. Too much has been lost already, irretrievably lost, not only in Europe but also in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, wonderful areas with a wealth of natural beauty, which we have visited so often. What we urgently need now are political decisions, firm actions, based on a broad social consensus, and a belief that time has not already run out to support the biodiversity that remains.