Abstract
Simple SummaryPollinators are important to the sustainability of human society, but butterflies are among the less studied pollinators. Yunnan Province in Southwest China is a region with high diversity of butterflies, but the pollinating species remain poorly understood. Understanding the species assemblage and spatial distribution pattern is the first step in forming a better resource utilisation and conservation. Using literature and museum records, our study identified 554 species of pollinating butterflies in Yunnan. Families Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae, and Hesperiidae are pollinator rich, while family Nymphalidae contains a relatively low ratio of pollinators. The zoning analysis revealed high species richness in tropical regions in South Yunnan as well as the topologically complex regions in Northwest Yunnan. Utilisation and conservation of pollinating butterflies in Yunnan should be emphasized with butterfly-friendly agriculture based on local traditions. Keeping butterfly attracting plants and unmanaged hedges with a diverse range of native grasses is also encouraged to achieve this goal.Pollinating butterflies are an important asset to agriculture, which still depends on wild resources. Yunnan Province in Southwest China is a region with typical montane agriculture, but this resource is poorly investigated. From literature reference and specimen examination, the present study identified 554 species of pollinating butterflies (50.8% of the total butterflies) from Yunnan, with family Nymphalidae possessing the least number of pollinators (80 species, 16.0%), while the remaining four families are pollinator-rich (>73%). Tropical lowlands and mountain-valley areas possess higher species richness than those with plain terrains. The species richness of pollinating butterflies in Yunnan does not simply decline with the increase of latitude, nor is significantly different between West and East Yunnan. Zonation of pollinating butterflies using the parsimony analysis of endemicity (PAE) identified nine distribution zones and ten subzones. Most areas of endemism (AOE) are found in lowlands or mountain-valley areas, complexity of terrains, climates, and vegetation types are believed to be the main causes of such endemicity. The potential pollinating service of these butterflies could be great to montane agriculture with expanding areas of cash crops and fruit horticulture. Conservation strategies for pollinating butterflies may consist of preserving habitats and establishing butterfly-friendly agriculture based on local traditions.
Highlights
Pollinating insects as an entity is an irreplaceable natural asset to human society, especially agriculture, through ancient to modern times [1,2]
Ecoregions with species richness over or near 157 are concentrated in South, West, to Southwest Yunnan, including even the subalpine climate zone (V) in Northwest Yunnan; while those with obvious less species richness are mainly found in Central and Northeast Yunnan (Figure 3)
It is clear that the high-richness ecoregions were more frequently found to the west of the Yunling-Ailao line, while all low-richness ecoregions were all found to the east of that line
Summary
Pollinating insects as an entity is an irreplaceable natural asset to human society, especially agriculture, through ancient to modern times [1,2]. To date, the only group among all pollinating insects that can be tamed and utilised is still restricted to honey bees, bumble bees, some solitary bees, and wasps (Hymenoptera) [1,3,4]. The vast majority of the remaining non-Hymenoptera pollinators, including butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), various beetles (Coleoptera), and true flies (Diptera), are still less understood and totally dependent on natural resources [1,3,5,6,7]. Improving our understanding of non-Hymenoptera pollinators, including the spatial distribution of diversity of such groups, is practically important for future resource utilisation and conservation. The generalised nectarivore butterflies are highly-efficient pollinators [3,9] and the focus of the present research
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