The marshlands provide water resources and support economic, ecological, and human well-being. However, less is known about the biodiversity of insects, particularly butterflies in marshlands of Rwanda. This study was interested with the assessment of species richness and species diversity of butterflies from a high altitude Rugezi marshland. Data were collected twice in 2023 during the dry (June-July) and the rainy (November-December) seasons. The northeast, central and northwest regions of the marshland were demarcated using published geodata and shapefiles of Rugezi, while the opportunistic sampling was used to select the sites with high probability to find butterflies. Within each site, butterflies were systematically sampled using fruit-baited traps made of banana and pineapple and hand sweep netting. Three traps were placed at each sampling point across a transect of 500 m, where 100 m were maintained between two traps. We left traps in the field and collected them after 24 h. Additionally, specimens were collected using the hand sweep net at each sampling point. The collected specimens were stored in glassine envelopes, brought to the entomology laboratory, and identified to family, genus, and species levels using dichotomous keys. The results revealed a total of 75 species classified into 4 families. The Nymphalidae family had more species than Pieridae, Lycaenidae, and Hesperiidae families during both dry and rainy seasons. Further, more species were sampled in the dry season (47 species) compared to the rainy season (28 species). Of these, 19 species occurred in both dry and rainy seasons. Twenty-eight were only found during the dry season and 9 were only found during the rainy season. We recommend continuous studies in Rugezi and other marshlands to enrich the findings of this study.

Butterflies are vital bioindicators and pollinators, with their diversity often reflecting ecosystem health. This study assessed the species richness of butterflies visiting Libidibia coriaria during its flowering season within the Kerala Agricultural University campus. A total of 41 butterfly species were recorded, representing approximately 29.5% of the 139 butterfly species previously documented from the campus. The high species richness observed around L. coriaria underscores its ecological importance as a key nectar source that sustains butterfly foraging activity.

Abstract Butterfly populations have experienced substantial declines in recent decades due to land‐use change, agricultural intensification and climate change. In the UK uplands, the impact of livestock grazing on butterfly populations has not been well documented. In this study we used long‐term monitoring from the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve in the English uplands to examine the impact of sheep grazing, cattle grazing and ungrazed management on butterfly abundance and species diversity across an upland calcareous site. Lightly cattle‐grazed sites were found to have 4.9 times the abundance of butterflies compared to sites lightly grazed by sheep. There were 3.6 times as many butterflies on ungrazed sites compared to sheep‐grazed sites. The species richness of butterflies was also significantly higher on cattle‐grazed and ungrazed sites compared to sheep‐grazed sites. Our study provides evidence of the conservation benefits of low‐intensity cattle grazing for butterfly abundance and diversity on calcareous grasslands in the UK uplands. Practical implication . For effective butterfly conservation, a shift from sheep grazing to light cattle grazing or stock exclusion in upland calcareous landscapes should be considered.

Abstract The global decline of insects in general and pollinators in particular poses a significant threat to biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Butterflies serve as sensitive indicators of environmental changes due to their specific habitat requirements and rapid responses to ecosystem alterations. Available studies are mostly devoted to analysing the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on the abundance and diversity of butterflies within disturbed landscape matrices. In this study we investigated how disturbances influenced butterfly populations within an undisturbed landscape matrix usually overlooked in the literature. Eighteen sites were monitored biweekly from May to September over 3 years (2022–2024) using standardized visual counts along 500‐m long transects. Grazing intensity and the surface of human‐disturbed lands were used as a measure of disturbance at local and landscape scales. A total of 16,017 individuals and 78 species were recorded. No significant differences in species richness or abundance were observed across the land use types, but analyses showed distinct species compositions between cultivated sites and grasslands. Butterfly community compositions were mainly influenced by structural habitat characteristics rather than land use. Low grazing intensity and the presence of forests in the surroundings positively influenced the abundance and species richness of butterflies. Within an undisturbed landscape matrix, cultivations play a different ecological role than in disturbed landscape matrix increasing landscape heterogeneity and butterfly diversity and hosting ecotonal communities. Anyway, disturbed land use types inhabit impoverished butterfly communities compared to semi‐natural ones in which the presence of protected species further emphasizes their critical role for conservation.

This study provides a comprehensive insight into the species richness and diversity of butterflies recorded from Nagarahole (Rajiv Gandhi) National Park (NNP), a protected area in southern Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. An updated checklist of 210 species, including previous records of 138 species, by adopting random and opportunistic sampling methods across different vegetation types of NNP from June 2021 to June 2023. The Nymphalidae was the most species-rich butterfly family, represented by 63 species, followed by Lycaenidae (57 species), Hesperiidae (49), Pieridae (23), Papilionidae (16), and Riodinidae (2). Of the total, 35 species are listed under various schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022. Additionally, four species are endemic to the Western Ghats. The population status of butterflies in NNP indicates that 38% of species are very common, 19% are common, 23% are not rare, and 10% are rare. However, 20 butterfly species (10%) are classified as very rare in their status. This highlights the importance of conservation measures to protect these butterfly species in this area.

Evaluation of butterfly biodiversity at various habitat types in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh State - India, conducted between mid-August 2023 and mid-September 2024. Overall, 332 out of 82 species of butterflies from five families were identified. Hesperiidae and Papilionidea were the least diverse families, while Nymphalidae was the most diverse. In Kadapa District, the habitats of the Tummalapalle mining area and the Palakondalu forest area had different butterfly diversity and richness. At 54 species and 235 individuals, the Palakondalu forest habitat had the highest diversity and richness of butterflies, while the Tummalapalle mining area habitat had the lowest, with 28 species and 97 individuals. The Palakondalu habitat had a greater Simpson diversity index (0.283) compared to the habitat in the Tummalapalle mining area (0.268). The Tummalapalle mining area habitat has a higher evenness index of butterflies (0.377) than the Palakondalu forest environment (0.329). With 0.217 and 0.350, respectively, the evenness and equitability index were highest in the habitat of the Tummalapalle mining region.

Most information on biodiversity changes is from the last few decades despite species responding to environmental changes for centuries. Longer-term information is needed to contextualize whether recent changes reflect longer-term trends. We focus on tropical regions, which are exceptionally biodiverse but contain many species that are currently threatened. We integrate historical and contemporary data from museum collections and online records for 45 butterfly species from Sulawesi (Indonesia) to explore species richness trends over the past 166 years (1857–2022), test whether recent trends mirror longer-term trends and examine whether species that are endemic, forest-dependent and/or host–plant specialists have declined the most. Over the 166-year time period, we found no systematic decline in overall species richness, despite shorter-term multi-decadal changes (positive, stable and negative trends). Recent trends generally did not match longer-term trends. Contrary to expectation, we found long-term increases in some species, particularly those that are non-endemic or open-habitat tolerant, whereas endemic and/or forest-dependent species showed more mixed trends, either stable or declining. We find long-term stability in regional species richness, but this masks composition changes that include more non-endemic and open-habitat species over time. Short-term fluctuations, spanning a few decades, did not reflect longer-term patterns, highlighting challenges in determining robust patterns of biodiversity change.

ABSTRACT Farmland biodiversity is known to be showing sharp declines worldwide, mainly due to agricultural intensification. Within this scenario, the identification of agricultural practices providing economic benefits to farmers and, at the same time, favoring higher biodiversity levels is a key challenge. Aiming at assessing the benefit to biological diversity of certain types of agricultural management practices, we analyzed the effects of legume crops, in comparison to dry cereal crops, on biodiversity proxies in central Spain. We compared species richness, abundance, and functional diversity of birds, butterflies, and other flower-visiting insects between legume crops fields versus cereal fields. We selected three nitrogen-fixing crop types: alfalfa, peas, and vetch, being the first one under two different management systems, irrigated and non-irrigated. We found that all the taxonomic groups had higher species richness and abundance in legume crops than cereal crops, being highest in alfalfa than in the other legume crop types. Finally, it is important to note that some management types of legume crops may be detrimental to species that breed, forage, or rest in these habitats. Consequently, we recommend that efforts to promote legume crops for biodiversity conservation should be accompanied by appropriate management practices especially during the avian breeding season.

Abstract Insect pollinators are declining globally, with habitat fragmentation recognised as an important driver. While these declines have garnered widespread public and policy attention, current evidence remains largely limited to certain taxa, geographic regions and ecosystems, thereby resulting in diverse outcomes. Here, we aimed to present a global meta‐analysis using a dataset comprising 80 studies across 28 countries on all continents, excluding Antarctica. We used Pearson's correlation coefficient ( r ) as an effect size to measure the association between habitat fragmentation and the abundance and species richness of wild bees, butterflies and wasps. Subsequently, we performed categorical meta‐analyses that used fragmentation indices, climates and taxonomic groups as moderators to investigate the dependency of habitat fragmentation effects on these factors. Increasing habitat fragmentation was significantly associated with reductions in both the abundance ( r = −0.26, 95% CI: −0.39, −0.12) and species richness ( r = −0.46, 95% CI: −0.55, −0.35) of insect pollinators. The magnitude of these associations varied depending on the evaluated fragmentation index. Specifically, pollinator abundance ( r = −0.43, 95% CI: −0.56, −0.29) and species richness ( r = −0.62, 95% CI: −0.71, −0.52) significantly decreased with reduced habitat area. Synthesis and applications. Our results show that insect pollinators have declined globally due to habitat fragmentation. Reduced habitat area was the main driver of pollinator decline. The findings indicate that preserving large habitats can support more insect pollinators. This implies that policies must target the landscape scale to mitigate the negative effects of habitat fragmentation.

ABSTRACTButterflies serve as sensitive bioindicators of ecological health, with their diversity affected by anthropogenic disturbances such as urbanization and habitat alteration. Lakeside, located in Pokhara, Nepal, is one of the most urbanized areas in the country, with its eastern boundary abutting the Methlang Forest area. Despite its rich biodiversity, the forest remains under‐documented. Between 2017 and 2021, the author conducted modified Pollard Walk surveys on an opportunistic basis to assess the species composition, richness, and seasonal distribution of adult butterflies across the forest. A total of 225 butterfly species, representing six families across 122 genera, were recorded within a 2.1 km2 area. Species richness exhibited an annual bimodal pattern, with the highest diversity observed in May (n = 107) and April (n = 102) followed by October (n = 90) and the lowest in December (n = 33) and January (n = 61). Notable findings included the first record of Burara anadi anadi (de Nicéville, 1884) in Nepal, along with sightings of Pithauria murdava (Moore, 1866), Prosotas bhutea (de Nicéville, [1884]), and Liphyra brassolis brassolis (Westwood, 1864), all of which were documented after at least three decades in Nepal. This study represents the first checklist of butterflies in this highly urbanized and ecologically fragmenting tourism hub, underscoring the urgent need for conservation initiatives. The prospects of butterfly tourism, alongside other forms of wildlife tourism, are discussed as a solution to balance habitat conservation with economic development, potentially extending across the broader Himalayan region.

(1) Background: Urban parks play a critical role in conserving biodiversity within city landscapes, yet the effects of fine-scale microhabitat heterogeneity remain poorly understood. This study examines how land cover and vegetation unit type within parks influence butterfly diversity. (2) Methods: From July to September 2019 and June to September 2020, adult butterflies were surveyed in 27 urban parks across Beijing. We classified vegetation into units based on vertical structure and management intensity, and then applied the patch–matrix framework and landscape metrics to quantify fine-scale heterogeneity in vegetation unit composition and configuration. Generalized linear models (GLM), generalized additive models (GAM), and random forest (RF) models were applied to identify factors influencing butterfly richness (Chao1 index) and abundance. (3) Results: In total, 10,462 individuals representing 37 species, 28 genera, and five families were recorded. Model results revealed that the proportion of park area covered by spontaneous herbaceous areas (SHA), wooded spontaneous meadows (WSM), and the Shannon diversity index (SHDI) of vegetation units were positively associated with butterfly species richness. In contrast, butterfly abundance was primarily influenced by the proportion of park area covered by cultivated meadows (CM) and overall green-space coverage. (4) Conclusions: Fine-scale vegetation patch composition within urban parks significantly influences butterfly diversity. Our findings support applying the patch–matrix framework at intra-park scales and suggest that integrating spontaneous herbaceous zones—especially wooded spontaneous meadows—with managed flower-rich meadows will enhance butterfly diversity in urban parks.

Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), considered bioindicators of habitat conservation status, are one of the groups used to assess the impact of habitat management and improvement efforts in the Biological Station of Torretes (Ibi, Alicante, Spain). This area also houses the Botanical Garden of the University of Alicante. The study was focused on the period from autumn 2022 to late spring 2023, and data on butterfly diversity and abundance from the current study were compared with historical data. Our results highlight that open spaces and the availability of trophic resources (nutritional plants) were key factors influencing the richness and abundance of Papilionoidea. The program for the creation and maintenance of new habitats at the biological station has increased spatial heterogeneity and the availability of trophic resources, which has led to a significant increase in the richness and abundance of butterflies in a short period. To support the conservation of Mediterranean ecosystems, and entomofauna in general, the Papilionidae are proposed as model groups for designing conservation projects based on traditional habitat management. These projects should promote spatial heterogeneity, include programs to enrich plant diversity, and be complemented by environmental education and outreach initiatives.

Abstract Rural abandonment and agricultural intensification are major threats to the conservation of biodiversity in Europe. Butterflies are excellent bioindicators of environmental change and can be used to assess the impact of global change on agroforestry mosaics. We used long‐term spatio‐temporal butterfly data to explore how grazing and mowing practices affect butterfly communities in the semi‐natural grasslands of the northwest Mediterranean Basin. Changes in butterfly richness, abundance and habitat indicators were recorded using standardized transect counts. We focused primarily on the impact of management practices but also considered their interaction with other drivers (climate and habitat configuration). The most intensive levels of grazing did not correspond to the lowest butterfly richness; rather, they were correlated with lower abundances but supported a greater number of open habitat specialists. More intense mowing was also associated with low abundances and communities dominated by common and open‐habitat species. Habitat configuration variables were also influential: open areas favoured greater butterfly richness and abundance, as well as more grassland specialists; greener vegetation, as measured by satellite imagery, led to an increase in butterfly abundance and communities composed of more generalist and forest species. Our study demonstrates the significant impact of grassland management on butterfly communities and offers insights into adaptive rangeland practices. It also indicates that increased levels of mowing and grazing can alter the composition of butterfly communities without necessarily affecting their diversity. This suggests that a dynamic restructuring of butterfly communities may occur in response to the environmental and habitat changes induced by these practices.

Changes in the function of natural areas, rice fields, and plantations can reduce the number and diversity of butterflies, with environmental factors playing a significant role in shaping butterfly richness and diversity. This study aimed to identify differences in butterfly diversity and composition between natural and modified habitats and to examine the relationship between environmental factors and butterfly richness and diversity. This research was conducted from March to April 2021 using a modified exploration method (pollard walk) through direct observations of butterflies. Observations were conducted in two sessions from 08:00–12:00 and 13:00–17:00. The results of this study successfully found five butterfly families with 995 individuals in natural habitats (79 species), whereas, in modified habitats, as many as 627 individuals (29 species) were documented. Based on the Shannon Winner index (H’) and Margelaf richness index (R), the natural habitat was classified as high (H’ = 3.84, R = 11.2). Simpson’s index and evenness values of the two habitats were too different and classified as high. There were significant differences in butterfly abundance between the natural and modified habitats (t (164) = 2.441, p = 0.016). Among the biotic factors examined, only wind speed significantly affected butterfly abundance.

Insects are in decline and threatened by climate change, yet lack of globally comprehensive information limits the understanding and management of this crisis. Here we uncover a strong concentration of butterfly diversity in rare and rapidly shrinking high-elevation climates. Integrating comprehensive phylogenetic and geographic range data for 12,119 species, we find that global centres of butterfly richness, range rarity and phylogenetic diversity are unusually concentrated in tropical and subtropical mountain systems. Two-thirds of the assessed species are primarily mountain dwelling and mountains hold 3.5 times more butterfly hotspots (top 5%) than lowlands. These hotspots only partially overlap with those of ants, terrestrial vertebrates and vascular plants (14–36%), while butterfly diversity is uniquely concentrated above 2,000 m elevation. We project that up to 64% of the temperature niche space of butterflies in tropical realms will erode by 2070, with the geographically restricted temperature conditions of mountains potentially turning these from refugia to traps for butterfly diversity. Our study identifies critical conservation priorities for butterflies and underscores the need for quantitative global assessments of at least select insect groups to help mitigate biodiversity loss in a rapidly warming world.

Central European grasslands with low land‐use intensity potentially harbor high biodiversity, but have decreased in extent due to land‐use intensification. We evaluated the success of a 30‐year grassland restoration project on former arable fields in comparison to old permanent grassland in a floodplain in North Germany, taking into account the effects of land‐use intensity and habitat connectivity. We analyzed restoration success by richness and abundance of target species groups of vascular plants and butterflies. Restoration was successful in establishing common plant species of agricultural grasslands. However, restoration failed to recover plant species of wet grasslands with respect to both richness and cover, which may be explained by the lack of wet site conditions on former arable fields. In general, higher land‐use intensity reduced species richness and cover of mesotrophic and wet‐grassland plants, while smaller distances to old permanent grassland increased richness of all but wet‐grassland species. Butterfly species, including grassland specialists and red‐list species, were favored by high cover of flowering forbs and, coherent to this, low land‐use intensity. Surprisingly, higher cover of old permanent grassland in the surrounding landscape decreased species richness of butterflies, possibly due to a dilution effect. In conclusion, we recommend recreating wet microsites and introducing seeds of specialist and rare forbs for better restoration success, in addition to sowing of diverse seed mixtures. It is also important to keep land‐use intensity low to allow for higher cover of host and nectar plants, which is vitally important for promoting butterflies, especially grassland specialists and red‐list species.

Effects of landscape edge heterogeneity on biodiversity in grassland restoration context.

ABSTRACTAimThe integration of high‐quality field data with high‐resolution remote sensing data can give detailed insights into the spatial distribution of biodiversity and provide valuable information for biodiversity conservation at a scale relevant for management action. We developed a framework based on remote sensing data and field surveys for modelling species richness and abundance of butterflies at high spatial resolution to inform about the spatial distribution of butterfly species richness and abundance and analyse their drivers and the scale of effect of landscape factors.LocationWestern Austria.MethodsWe combined structured butterfly surveys at 175 grassland sites in western Austria with remote sensing variables describing topography, grassland characteristics, and the landscape composition and configuration at different radii around a site. For spatial predictions of butterfly species richness and abundance, generalised linear models with elastic net regularisation were used and compared with stepwise variable selection. To analyse the influence of selected variables and their scale of effect, models with landscape variables in different radii around the sites and variables describing topography were applied.ResultsFor species richness, the Spearman rank correlation between predicted and measured values was 0.62. For abundance, predictive power was lower with a correlation of 0.52. Models with variables from smaller radii (125 and 250 m) generally showed better predictive performance than those at larger radii (500 and 1000 m). We found an effect of elevation, maximum grassland productivity, northness, and forest ecotone density in most models.Main ConclusionsIntegrating remote sensing data with spatial modelling techniques substantially enhances our ability to understand patterns and identify key drivers of butterfly species richness at high spatial resolution. Our study highlights the positive influence of forest edges, small woody features, and moderate grassland productivity on butterfly species richness and abundance.

Butterflies are the most important “bioindicators” representing the overall health of the ecosystem (Pollard, 1991). Butterflies are dependent on different types of vegetation for their life. They are facing threats due to habitat loss and climate change that varies with seasons. Chatra villas garden is endowed with butterflies diversity due to lush green vegetation. Comparatively Abheda is lower in species richness and abundance of butterflies due to habitat loss and lesser variation in vegetation. Study of these bioindicators is crucial for patronage efforts, monitoring of ecosystem and overall understanding the health of the ecosystem. Number of species of butterflies is decreasing day by day due to increase use of pesticides, deforestation and climate change that ultimately results in loss of habitat of butterflies. The study was carried out in March 2022 to February 2023. For the sampling of butterflies “Line Transect Method” was used. The Microsoft excel was used for analyzing the data and for making the graphs. Maximum abundance (205) and species richness (19) was reported in Chatra villas garden. While in Abheda 191 individuals and 11 species of butterflies was reported. Shannon diversity index of Chatra villas garden (H= 2.288) is more than the Abheda (H= 1.883). The highest Simpson’s diversity index was at the Chatra villas garden (D= 0.8651) than Abheda (D= 0.176). The species richness Margalef’s index (R) of Chatra villas garden (R= 3.381) was higher than the Abheda (R= 1.903). Pielou’s eveness index (e) of Chatra villas garden was (e= 0.777) lesser than Abheda (e= 0.785). Nymphalidae family was the dominant family in both Chatra villas garden (36.84%) and in Abheda (54.54%).The least dominant family in Chatra villas garden was Hesperiidae (5.26%) while in Abheda, Lycaenidae (18.18%) was the least dominant family. Danaus chrysippus (Plain tiger butterfly) and Eurema brigitta (Brush bordered yellow) was the most dominant species in C.V garden. While in the Abheda Zizula hylax (Tiny grass blue) was the most dominant species followed by Danaus chrysippus.

The butterflies known from the Mt Etna area, Sicily are analysed. Eighty-four species are here recorded from within the boundaries of the mountain. A checklist is provided. Species data from 176 locations across the mountain are tabled and mapped for the 84 species. Of the 84 species recorded, 72 are considered resident, with 12 considered to be likely vagrants to the mountain. The analyses showed that of the 176 mapped locations, only 28 were from the western half of the mountain. This may explain why 18 of the more common Sicilian butterfly species were not recorded from the western side of the mountain. The data did indicate that Melanargia russiae (Esper, [1781]), Chazara briseis (Linnaeus, 1764) and Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus, 1758) have very localized distributions on the mountain. Four of the resident species were found to be inherently rare, viz. Pieris mannii (Mayer, 1851), Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758), Leptotes pirithous (Linnaeus, 1767) and Pseudophilotes baton (Bergsträsser, 1770). The elevational zone from 500-1500 m was found to have the highest butterfly richness at 71 resident species excluding Boloria euphrosyne (Linnaeus, 1758) which is restricted to higher elevations. Polyommatus thersites (Cantener, 1834) is recorded from Sicily and illustrated for the first time. Despite strong anthropogenic influences on some areas of the mountain, the overall butterfly fauna was still relatively rich and abundant. A concern is the reclaiming of abandoned vineyard terraces on the northern slope where M. russiae, which has a very restricted distribution on this slope, has residence on some of these aban­doned terraces. Thus, it would be prudent to retain some abandoned terraces to ensure survival of these resident butterfly populations. Undertaking more butterfly sampling on the mountain would provide a more complete picture of the status of the mountain’s butterfly fauna.