Butterfly Diversity Research Articles

Diversity of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) in Universitas Samudra, Langsa

Butterflies are one of the animals that have an important role in human life which is currently recorded totaling around 19,022 species in the world and 1,900 species found in Indonesia. Research on butterflies in the campus area in Aceh has not been done too much, so there is a need for research on butterfly diversity in the campus area, especially in Langsa, Aceh. The purpose of this study was to record the species and to analyze ecological factor of butterflies at Universitas Samudra. Sampling was conducted for 5 times once a week from December 2023-January 2024 by purposive random sampling using sweeping techniques and exploring method in 5 observation locations. The results found 30 species from 5 families with a total of 413 individuals. The most common family is family Nymphalidae as many as 15 species (50%) and the most common species found was Appias olferna with a total of 56 individuals. The data found were analyzed for ecological assessment. The result showed the diversity index with H' value of 2.17-2.82 classified as a medium, an evenness index with E value of 0.87-0.94 classified as high, and a dominance index with D value of 0.07-0.19 classified as low.

Impact of urban landscape patterns on butterfly diversity in Fuzhou City parks

Butterflies are crucial bioindicators of urban environmental changes. Utilizing urban green spaces to create ecological corridors and habitats is essential for maintaining biodiversity. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence landscape patterns in urban green spaces and their impact on butterfly diversity is crucial. This study investigated how landscape patterns in urban green spaces affect butterfly diversity through a year-long survey across 24 urban parks in Fuzhou. The main findings were as follows: (1) A total of 7786 butterflies from 59 species were recorded, with the highest species diversity and richness observed in Fushan Country Park. Seasonal abundance peaked in summer, while richness was highest in autumn. Species composition varied significantly across park types. (2) Monophagous butterfly diversity was positively correlated with woodland proportion and negatively to waterbody proportion. Polyphagous and oligophagous butterfly diversity showed positive correlations with woodland aggregation index and grassland proportion, but negative with construction land proportion. Factors such as the woodland proportion and grassland proportion influenced butterfly diversity in different activity spaces. (3) Butterfly communities with different feeding types and vertical activity space ranges responded differently to landscape pattern indices. Seasonal variations indicated that polyphagous butterflies and those occupying the middle activity space exhibited similar responses to environmental factors.

Diversity of Butterflies in Guindy National Park-Butterfly Garden in Guindy Children’s Park

Guindy National Park is the only protected forest oasis holding good tropical dry evergreen forest vegetation sheltering many wild Fauna, and flora amidst the city. The literature survey provides a limited information analysis earlier before, on various aspects of Ecology & Conservation Management, Habitat analysis & assessment, distribution of Vegetation, diversity of fauna like Black buck, spotted deer, Birds, Jackal including lower vertebrates & Butterflies. Butterflies are the sensitive insects which react quickly to any kind of disturbances like changes in the habitat quality and environmental variation. Apart from pollinators they play a major key role in food chain, being prey for birds, reptiles, spiders and predatory insects. Many species of butterflies are strictly seasonal in their occurrence and prefer a particular set of habitats and host plants for their survival. Notably these biological indicators are slowly disappearing due to changes in land pattern and habitat as they are closely dependent on plants.

Comparative Study of Butterfly Diversity across Four Habitats in Cuncolim, Goa, India

Biodiversity describes the variety and richness of life on Earth. The diversity of life on Earth is essential for healthy functioning and it boosts ecosystem productivity. Without wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms we cannot have the healthy ecosystems on which we are relying. Monitoring of biodiversity is of prime importance because biodiversity is the marker of ecosystem stability. Butterflies provide variety of ecological services and are very important component of biodiversity in different natural ecosystems. Several studies are reported from different parts of the state, mainly from wildlife sanctuaries, sacred grooves, Plateaus, and well-known tourist destinations of Goa. Present study is focused on collecting preliminary information on diversity of butterflies from four unexplored selected habitats of Cuncolim area at the foothills of Western Ghats in Goa. The Pollard Walk and visual count methods were employed. Total number of butterfly species during the survey at Forest is 316, Rivulet is 264, Seven temple is 222, and Plant nursey is 230. From the present survey it is observed that the Nymphalidae is the richest family (51%) followed by Pieridae (17%), Lycaenidae and Paipilionidae, both with (15%) each and Hesperiidae with (2%). Relative abundance of site 1(Forest) is 30.62, site 2 (Rivulet) is 25.58 site 3 (Seven temple) is 21.51 and site 4 (Plant nursery) is 22.28. Observations from this study clearly indicate the impact of anthropogenic activities on butterfly diversity.

Identifying restoration priorities for habitat defragmentation: a case study in Alberta’s oil sands

ContextAnthropogenic habitat loss and fragmentation are major threats to ecosystems and a focus in conservation. However, conservation is often limited to considerations of site-level processes neglecting the effect of the surrounding landscape that might limit the effectiveness of restoration efforts.ObjectivesUsing seismic lines in Alberta’s oil sands as a case study, we demonstrate an approach that integrates spatial configuration of anthropogenic footprints to prioritize habitat defragmentation.MethodsWe quantified the effects of seismic line density and configuration on functional footprints for caribou, butterfly diversity, and vascular plant diversity, to predict whether edge effects are more pronounced under different line densities and configurations. We then estimated the portion of the original functional footprint that would persist in the landscape due to the co-occurrence with other anthropogenic activities.ResultsWe found that functional footprint for caribou grows rapidly as habitat loss increases. In contrast, butterflies and plants exhibited a more gradual and linear growth in functional footprints at more local scales. This effect varies based on configuration of lines, either suppressing or facilitating the effect of habitat loss on functional habitats. Finally, restoration of all seismic lines without considering other footprints would reduce the original functional footprint by only 57% for caribou.ConclusionsRestoration efforts for habitat defragmentation rarely consider the spatial configuration of linear features, particularly as it relates to the co-occurrence of other footprints that are not being restored. Our functional approach to defragmentation of habitat encompasses different spatial concepts related to anthropogenic forest fragmentation and allows up to a 25-fold gain in cost-effectiveness for seismic lines restoration.

Assessment of the Diversity and Abundance of Butterfly Fauna in and around Choolanur Peafowl Sanctuary in Palakkad, Kerala, India

This study investigates the diversity and abundance of butterflies in two selected sites, Choolanur (protected area) and Pazhambalakkode (an area close to sanctuary) of Palakkad district of Kerala, India. The study was done only in and around the peafowl sanctuary and Choolanur forest premise and the diversity of butterfly was found to be a little high at Site 1(Choolanur), with Nymphalidae family being most abundant. The number of butterflies from the Papilionidae and Lycaenida family was recorded to be in less numbers as compare to the Nymphalidae. The diversity of butterflies at at Site 2 (Pazhambalakkode) the diversity was almost similar to the diversity of Site 1, which may be due to the immigration of species. The butterflies were sampled by direct search method and photographs were identified with the help of keys and specialists. The species belonging to Nymphalidae family was seen to be high, followed by species of the Lycaenidae family, Pieridae family and the species of the Papilionidae family was recorded to be least. Our results not only confirm the importance of protected sites for protecting biodiversity within a particular area but also highlight their beneficial effects in their surroundings.

Species Richness Increases with Non-Forested Area: Determinants of Butterfly Diversity in Cincinnati, Ohio Urban Parks

Species Richness Increases with Non-Forested Area: Determinants of Butterfly Diversity in Cincinnati, Ohio Urban Parks

A Comparison of Butterfly Diversity Results between iNaturalist and Expert Surveys in Eastern Oklahoma

Ongoing worldwide biodiversity declines and range shifts associated with climate change increase the importance of documenting the current distributions of species to establish baseline data. However, financial and logistical constraints make it impossible for taxonomic experts to conduct thorough surveys in most locations. One popular approach to offset the lack of expert sampling is using community science data collected by the public, curated, and made available for research. These datasets, however, contain different biases than those typically present in data collected through conventional survey practices, often leading to different results. Recent studies have used massive datasets generated over large areas; however, less is known about the results obtained at smaller scales or with more limited sampling intervals. We compared butterfly observations in eastern Oklahoma using a dataset obtained from the popular community science website iNaturalist and one collected during targeted surveys of glade habitats conducted by taxonomic experts. At the county-level scale, the relative abundances of butterfly species correlated well between the glade surveys and the iNaturalist observations, and there was no difference in the relative abundance of different butterfly families between the two survey methods. However, as anticipated, the conventional surveys outperformed the community science data in measuring biodiversity at a smaller geographic scale.

Keanekaragaman Kupu-Kupu (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) di Kawasan Ekowisata Dusun Kaliurang Timur, Yogyakarta

Butterflies act as bioindicators and pollinators of the environment. Ecotourism development poses a threat to butterfly life due to high human activity and land degradation. This study aims to determine the diversity of butterflies (Rhopalocera), diversity index, evenness index, dominance index, similarity index, and abiotic parameters at each sampling location. The data was collected at Tlogo Putri, settlements, and Tankaman Natural Park, whose location selection was based on purposive sampling and using the point count method. Based on the research obtained 55 species with a total of 294 individuals, diversity index (TP: 2.88; P: 2.51; TNP: 2.66), evenness index (TP: 0.86; P: 0.75; TNP: 0.84), dominance index (TP: 0.08; P: 0.14; TNP: 0.09), species similarity index (TP & P: 46.42; TP & TNP: 27.45). Abiotic parameters in the ecotourism area of Kaliurang Timur Hamlet are altitude of 814-889 meters above sea level, temperature of 26-28°C, air humidity of 10-45%, light intensity of 7571-4877x10 lux, wind speed of 0-1 m/s, and rainfall of 0-20. The conclusion of this study is that 55 species of Rhopalocera order were found, the diversity index is moderate, the evenness index is high, the dominance index and the similarity index are low at each sampling location. Abiotic parameters measured were in the normal range for Rhopalocera life in the ecotourism area of Kaliurang Timur Hamlet.

Cross-taxon analysis in the highly threatened Mediterranean dunes reveals consistent diversity patterns in butterfly and plant communities

AbstractButterflies and plant species are widely used as model systems in biodiversity and conservation research. However, little is known about spatial patterns of butterfly diversity linked to plant communities across coastal dune ecotones. We explored the relation between butterfly and vegetation diversity in a Mediterranean protected dune system in Central Italy. We sampled butterfly and plant communities on shifting and fixed dunes and investigated their distribution patterns by diversity indexes and Species Abundance Diversity models (SADs). We also computed species beta-diversity and analyzed the relation between butterfly communities and vegetation by correlation analyses. Cross-taxon congruence in species richness, composition and abundance was assessed using Mantel correlation tests. Both butterfly and plant diversity were higher on the fixed dunes than on the shifting dunes. In both communities, SADs were adequately described by the geometric series model, which is typical of harsh environments with simple communities dominated by few species. Among both butterflies and plants, we identified species found only on either the shifting or the fixed dunes. Correlation between plant and butterfly diversity was higher for entomophilous plant species than for the more abundant anemophilous ones. Our results indicate that both plant and butterfly communities respond to the sea-inland environmental gradient, forming distinct communities with specialized taxa. Our findings also provide evidence of the importance of butterfly-plant relations for preserving biological diversity and ecosystem functioning in Mediterranean coastal areas.

Indirect Effects of Cattle Trampling on the Structure of Fruit-Feeding Butterfly Assemblages Inhabiting Restinga Forests in Southern Brazil

The impacts of anthropogenic activities are increasing at alarming rates, leading to biodiversity loss and the displacement of native habitats. One of the main contributors to human disturbances is livestock farming, which degrades native habitats through cattle grazing and trampling. To understand these impacts, we investigated the effects of cattle trampling on the structure and diversity of fruit-feeding butterflies in Restinga forests of southern Brazil. We addressed questions regarding the effects of cattle raising on butterfly diversity and composition, identified indicator species, and examined the influence of environmental variables on butterfly richness, dominance, abundance, and species composition. Our dataset comprises the long-term monitoring of fruit-feeding butterflies in Restinga forests from 2014 to 2019, across sites with low, medium, and high levels of disturbance due to cattle trampling. We found that medium and high levels of disturbance increased butterfly richness and abundance, whereas low-level disturbance was associated with lower abundance. Additionally, the species composition of butterflies in medium to highly disturbed sites differed from that in preserved Restinga forests, indicating that any perturbation can markedly alter alpha and beta diversity parameters. These changes simplify the native forest structure, open the canopy, disrupt the understory, and favor butterfly species commonly associated with disturbed forests.

Low-intensity urbanisation alters community composition across multiple trophic levels on Lipsi Island, Greece.

Urbanisation has reduced the abundance and diversity of many taxonomic groups, and the effects may be more pronounced on islands, which have a smaller regional species pool to compensate. Green spaces within urban environments may help to safeguard wildlife assemblages, and the associated habitat heterogeneity can even increase species diversity. Here, total abundance and species diversity of butterflies, birds, and vegetation at nine rural and nine urban locations were quantified on Lipsi Island, Greece. Sites were assessed using Pollard walks for butterflies, point-count surveys for birds, and quadrats for vegetation. There was no significant difference in the abundance or species diversity of butterflies or vegetation among rural and urban locations, which could pertain to the low building density within urbanised areas and the minimal extent of urbanisation on the island. However, urban areas hosted a significantly greater abundance, richness, and diversity of birds compared to rural sites. The community composition of butterflies, birds, and vegetation also differed significantly between urban and rural locations, highlighting the impact of urbanisation on species across a broad range of trophic groups. This study contributes to ecological knowledge on the impacts of urbanisation across multiple trophic levels in island ecosystems, with comparisons across a gradient of island size and urbanisation intensity needed in future research.

The value of pocket parks in preserving urban butterfly diversity

Butterflies, valued for their aesthetic and ecological value, are key subjects in urban biodiversity research. Our study focused on the often-overlooked roles of pocket parks, which are micro-greenspaces and small amusement parks open to the public. Despite their limited size, pocket parks are vital in maintaining the diversity of urban butterflies. We contrasted pocket park diversity with urban parks in Beijing, China. Next, using hierarchical clustering, we classified butterflies into exploiters, adapters, and avoiders based on how well they adapted to urban environments. Finally, we used Logistic regression and Poisson regression to build generalised linear models for all species and each of the three groups separately, allowing us to investigate the differences in the effects of variables from food resources and shelters on various butterfly groups in pocket parks. The results showed that although the primary restrictions differ depending on the group, pocket parks can serve as habitats for most species. Management intensity, pocket park area and nectar plants were significant variables for all species. The tourist intensity and host plants were variables that affected the presence of exploiters. Host plants, nectar plants, and management intensity all affected adapter diversity. Pocket parks’ area was only affected avoiders significantly. These results suggest that pocket parks have roles as source and sink habitats for exploiters and adapters and as stepping stones and corridors for most butterfly species inhabiting cities.

Diversity of Butterflies on Rajaram College Campus, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India

The present study was carried out to understand the butterfly diversity and abundance in Rajaram College, Campus from November 2022 to March 2023 and November 2023 to March 2024. A total 28 species of butterflies belonging to 24 genera and four families were recorded from the present study. From the observed butterflies, the family Nymphalidae was the most dominant among the four families with 14 species, followed by Lycaenidae (07), Papilionidae (04) and Pieridae (03). The present study added valuable information on the diversity of butterfly fauna and will contribute to developing effective conservation.

Diversity, abundance and habitat association of butterflies at govt. Kamla Raja Girls College Campus, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

Diversity, abundance and habitat association of butterflies at govt. Kamla Raja Girls College Campus, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

Bottom-up butterfly model with thorax-pitch control and wing-pitch flexibility

The diversity in butterfly morphology has attracted many people around the world since ancient times. Despite morphological diversity, the wing and body kinematics of butterflies have several common features. In the present study, we constructed a bottom-up butterfly model, whose morphology and kinematics are simplified while preserving the important features of butterflies. The present bottom-up butterfly model is composed of two trapezoidal wings and a rod-shaped body with a thorax and abdomen. Its wings are flapped downward in the downstroke and backward in the upstroke by changing the geometric angle of attack (AOA). The geometric AOA is determined by the thorax-pitch and wing-pitch angles. The thorax-pitch angle is actively controlled by abdominal undulation, and the wing-pitch angle is passively determined because of a rotary spring representing the basalar and subalar muscles connecting the wings and thorax. We investigated the effectiveness of abdominal undulation for thorax-pitch control and how wing-pitch flexibility affects aerodynamic-force generation and thorax-pitch control, through numerical simulations using the immersed boundary–lattice Boltzmann method. As a result, the thorax-pitch angle perfectly follows the desired angle through abdominal undulation. In addition, there is an optimal wing-pitch flexibility that maximizes the flying speed in both the forward and upward directions, but the effect of wing-pitch flexibility on thorax-pitch control is not significant. Finally, we compared the flight behavior of the present bottom-up butterfly model with that of an actual butterfly. It was found that the present model does not reproduce reasonable body kinematics but can provide reasonable aerodynamics in butterfly flights.

Species-specific erosion of genetic diversity in grassland butterflies depends on landscape land cover

Changes in land cover, particularly agricultural intensification, are a primary cause of pollinator decline. Decline and isolation can reduce genetic diversity, reducing adaptive potential and unmasking genetic load. Maintenance of functional connectivity in changing landscapes is necessary to ensure persistence, but how land cover impacts genetic diversity and functional connectivity in butterflies remains poorly understood. We assess to which extent land cover functionally isolates grassland butterfly populations and what consequences isolation has for genetic diversity using whole genome and land cover data. We assess species-specific patterns across three butterfly species that vary in habitat specialization and mobility - Polyommatus icarus, Plebejus argus and Cyaniris semiargus - using samples from 6 to 11 populations across a ~25,000 km2 area in southern Sweden. We find that while generalist Po. icarus is nearly panmictic and heathland specialist Pl. argus maintains modest functional connectivity, grassland specialist C. semiargus exists in largely isolated populations. Genetic diversity in all species is positively related to grassland extent in the surrounding landscape. Arable and forest extent are positively and negatively related to genetic diversity in Po. icarus, while the inverse is true in C. semiargus. Lower functional connectivity in C. semiargus is coupled with higher rates of inbreeding, suggesting more urgent need of conservation action aimed at restoring functional connectivity in this species, illustrating how genetic data can reveal threats that may go unnoticed with abundance data alone. We conclude that specialist butterfly genetic diversity relies upon preservation of well-connected semi-natural grasslands to maintain functional connectivity at longer distances.

Exploring butterfly diversity: A comparative review of Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park of Bengaluru

Butterflies play a pivotal role as an indicator of environmental health and ecosystem vitality. Their presence often signifies diverse invertebrate populations, which constitute a significant portion of global biodiversity. Butterflies serve as ecological indicators in urban environments, are sensitive to environmental changes, and play a crucial role as pollinators. Butterfly diversity studies are vital for understanding the ecological health of urban green spaces. Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park, two renowned botanical gardens in Bangalore, India, are often compared for their biodiversity. This study aims to compare the diversity of butterflies in these two parks based on the available checklist of species. Key words: Biodiversity, butterfly, ecosystem, pollination.

A Survey of the Diversity of Butterflies in King County, Washington, USA

A Survey of the Diversity of Butterflies in King County, Washington, USA

Spatiotemporal patterns of forest pollinator diversity across the southeastern United States

AbstractAimEfforts to understand how pollinating insect diversity is distributed across large geographic areas are rare despite the importance of such work for conserving regional diversity. We sought to relate the diversity of bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea), hover flies (Diptera: Syrphidae), and butterflies (Lepidoptera) to ecoregion, landscape context, canopy openness, and forest composition across southeastern U.S. forests.LocationNineteen experimental forests across nine states in the southeastern U.S.MethodsWe established 5–7 plots on each experimental forest. In each, we sampled pollinators monthly (March–September) using coloured pan traps, and collected data on local forest characteristics. We used the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) to quantify surrounding landcover at different spatial scales.ResultsBee richness was negatively correlated with both the amount of conifer (pine) forest and the extent of wetlands in the surrounding landscape but was positively correlated with canopy openness. Hover flies and butterflies were less sensitive to landscape context and stand conditions. Pollinator communities differed considerably among ecoregions, with those of the Central Appalachian and Coastal Plain ecoregions being particularly distinct. Bee richness and abundance peaked 2 months earlier in Central Appalachia than in the Coastal Plain and Southeastern Mixed Forest ecoregions.Main ConclusionsOur findings reveal ecoregional differences in pollinator communities across the southeastern U.S. and highlight the importance of landscape context and local forest conditions to this diverse fauna. The closed broadleaf forests of Appalachia and the open conifer‐dominated forests of the Coastal Plain support particularly distinct pollinator communities with contrasting seasonality. Our results suggest pine forests may reduce pollinator diversity in regions historically dominated by broadleaf forests. However, efforts to create more open canopies can help improve conditions for pollinators in planted pine forests. Research exploring associations between forest pollinators and different broadleaf tree taxa is needed to better anticipate the impacts of various management activities.