September 23 | Plant of the week Part XIII

Diversity ensures diversity

There are around 500 different species of knapweed worldwide; they belong to the family of Astaraceae. One of the most important species for insects is certainly the common scabious knapweed.
Centaurea scabiosa is often accepted by butterflies. Here it is visited by the Silver-Green Bluelings. The female is slightly larger and can be recognized by her brown upper side.
One of the most important reasons for a high insect population is the diversity of plantspecies. In the Guggerbachtal Alpinum, at Schatzalp, we find an extremely high population of butterflies.
Some days we literally walking through clouds of butterflies.
The knapweed is a native species that grows along roadsides, in semi-dry grassland communities on limestone, and is ideally adapted to warm climates.
Depending on the location, it grows to a height of 30 to 150 cm and delights us with its flowers from July to early autumn.