Data on spatiotemporal microsatellite allele frequencies of 1384 Maniola jurtina samples across Europe

Data from the first eight years of the Butterfly Genetics Monitoring Scheme, a pilot study intended to create a genetic diversity monitoring scheme for a Lepidopteran species. Six microsatellite loci were used to generate genotype frequencies for 1384 meadow brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina) individuals. In total these data include repeated samplings from sites over an eight-year period (2012-2020), as well as a wide spatial coverage across Europe for a single year (2017). These data allow both the continuous monitoring of genetic diversity for a subset of sites, but also a snapshot of the genetic diversity of a species across a continent. A full description of the methods will be provided in an article currently in preparation titled: Monitoring spatiotemporal patterns in the genetic diversity of a European butterfly species