Koevinkjes op Terschelling

The Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus) is a well known and locally common butterfly in the Netherlands. Recent research (Tax, 1989) has shown that the Ringlet nowadays is very rare in the coastal zone. Strangely enough only on the Waddensea island Terschelling there is a rich population left. This article describes the place of the Ringlet in the landscape of Alder-hedges (Alnus glutinosa), a landscape that is typical of this island. It is due to the existence and maintenance of this landscape that the Ringlet population is able to survive here.