Lepidoptera Communities Research Articles

Temporal Variation in and Influence of Environmental Variables on a Lepidopteran Community in a Mediterranean Mid-Mountain Area

The temporal variation in a community of nocturnal and diurnal Lepidoptera was studied in a Mediterranean mid-mountain area of the SW Iberian Peninsula between 2017 and 2019. Monthly samplings that allowed for the identification of 3528 specimens, belonging to 373 species from 40 different families, also provided data on the temporal and seasonal variation in richness and the abundance (dominated by Geometridae and Noctuidae), diet type (mainly oligophagous), voltinism (mostly univoltine) and biogeography of the community, primarily Mediterranean in scope. Richness, abundance and diversity were also found to be highly positively correlated with temperature and solar radiation, and less negatively correlated with precipitation and humidity. Canonical correspondence analyses (CCAs) also indicate that temperature and radiation are the climatic variables with the greatest influence on species occurrence over the different months of the year. The CCAs gave a cumulative variance value of 84.79% when using the monthly mean values of temperature, solar radiation and minimum relative humidity, and 86.4% if only monovoltine species were considered. Guidelines to maintain diversity in the environment of the study area are provided. It is possible that the area may function as a refuge area for Lepidoptera in the face of climate change and deforestation that are occurring in the geographical environment.

Moths in space: The below-canopy structure of forest drives abundance and mobility-related traits of moth communities

The distribution of species is primarily driven by the availability of trophic resources. In a given forest type, insects trophically related to the dominant tree are expected to be evenly distributed due to the abundance of their foodplant. However, their distribution is also influenced by complex relationships with abiotic and biotic parameters such as available space, predatory pressure, and morphometric traits. In this study, we investigated how the three-dimensional structure of space below the canopy may affect the composition of nocturnal lepidoptera communities. To synthesise the complexity of the dispersal behaviour of these insects, we evaluated easily measurable traits such as wingspan and the presence of tympanic organs, both connected to their mobility and thus potentially influenced by the structure of the available flight space. The study was conducted in the Sila National Park (Italy), where 12 sampling sites were selected in pine forests and an additional 12 in beech forests. Forest spatial structure was investigated using a portable terrestrial laser scanner. Moths were sampled monthly using light traps from May to October in both 2019 and 2020. Among measured forest traits, we observed that the space above three meters from the ground is the only factor influencing community composition. Larger species with tympanic organs prefer environments with less space below tree canopies. Our findings could be the starting point for future studies that investigate a potential defence strategy of moths against bats, as tympanate and larger species not only actively avoid chiropter predation but could also choose denser forests because of a lower bat activity. Moths' distribution and community composition thus appear to be significantly shaped by the spatial structure of forests.

Lepidoptera species richness and community composition in urban street trees

The triple threats of climate change, habitat loss, and environmental pollution have stimulated discussion on how urban areas can be modified to both mitigate heat increases and provide habitat for wildlife such as insects. The strategy of using trees to reduce temperatures has been adopted by numerous cities. However, the majority of street trees planted around the world are non-native. Studies conducted in non-urban areas have demonstrated in comparison to native plants, non-native plants are less likely to support native insect diversity. Here we use a database approach to quantify the number of native Lepidoptera species associated with 76 of the most common street tree species planted in Vancouver, Canada. We tested the prediction that compared to non-native trees, native street trees will support a higher diversity and unique community of native Lepidoptera. As predicted, native street trees were associated with five times as many native Lepidoptera species, and the Lepidoptera communities supported by native vs. non-native street trees were distinct. There was no difference in native Lepidoptera associations between broadleaf vs. coniferous street trees. These results are consistent with studies that have used active sampling techniques to investigate insect richness on a smaller subset of native and non-native tree species. Collectively, these data provide good evidence that the planting native instead of non-native trees will help stem the loss of insect diversity in urban areas

Molecular identification of some immature Lepidoptera causing Quercus L., defoliation in Lorestan province, western Iran (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

Quercus L., dominate almost 40% of Iran’s forest area. The second destructive group of insects is defoliator Lepidoptera distributed in the Zagros forests of Iran. We assessed Lepidoptera communities in Zagros forests ecosystems in Lorestan province, western Iran during a ca. 2-yr period that coincided with defoliation outbreaks experienced by this area. A number of 500 lepidopteran larva feeding Quercus leaves handy were collected. The phylogenetic relationship of Lepidoptera was analysed using BEAST software based on the Bayesian Inference method. In total, 14 lepidopteran taxa were identified based on DNA sequences of their immature stages. Six genera and eight species were identified using BLASTn. Here we developed a COI barcoding-based approach to Lepidoptera species delimitation.

Habitat heterogeneity supports day-flying Lepidoptera in oil palm plantations

Abstract Oil palm is one of Southeast Asia’s most common crops, and its expansion has caused substantial modification of natural habitats and put increasing pressure on biodiversity. Rising global demand for vegetable oil, coupled with oil palm’s high yield per unit area and the versatility of the palm oil product, has driven the expansion of oil palm agriculture in the region. Therefore, it is critical to identify management practices that can support biodiversity in plantations without exacerbating negative impacts on the environment. This study focuses on day-flying Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), which contribute to the ecosystem functioning as pollinators, prey, and herbivore species. We assessed whether density and behaviours of day-flying Lepidoptera varied between different habitats within oil palm plantations and across seasons. We surveyed the density and behaviours of Lepidoptera communities in mature industrial oil palm plantations within the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Agriculture (BEFTA) Programme sites, in Riau, Indonesia. We surveyed two distinct habitats within the plantations in March and September 2013: Edge habitats, which were bordered by plantation roads on one side, and Core habitats in the centre of oil palm planting blocks. We conducted analyses on the effect of habitat type and season on both the overall density and behaviour of Lepidoptera communities and, independently, on the most common species. In our surveys, we observed 1464 individuals across 41 species, with a significantly higher density in Edge than in Core habitats. While there was no significant difference between overall density in March and September surveys, there was an interaction between season and habitat, with density increasing more markedly in Edge than Core areas in September. There was also a significant effect of habitat and season on behavioural time budget for the community as a whole, with more active behaviours, such as foraging and mating, being recorded more frequently in Edge than Core habitats, and more commonly in September than March. The effect of habitat type, season, and their interaction differed between the six most common species. Our findings indicate that Lepidoptera abundance is affected by habitat characteristics in a plantation and can therefore be influenced by plantation management practices. In particular, our study highlights the value of road edges and paths in plantations for day-flying Lepidoptera. We suggest that increased non-crop vegetation in these areas, achieved through reduced clearing practices or planting of flowering plants, could foster abundant and active butterfly communities in plantations. These practices could form part of sustainability management recommendations for oil palm, such as those of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

New insights on glass industry wasteland ecosystems

Glass manufacturing operations lead to an increasing number of abandoned slag heaps contaminated with metallic trace elements (MTE). However, the relative influence of edaphic factors on the biodiversity of glasswork wastelands is still poorly understood although closely related to sustainable land management practices. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to provide new insights into glasswork wastelands through the investigation of (i) Orthoptera, diurnal Lepidoptera, plant communities, and (ii) abiotic parameters in the topsoils.To that end, biodiversity indices were computed from ecological inventories performed on the herbaceous layer. In addition, soil samples were taken from the topsoil layer (0–10 cm) to assess agronomic properties, actually (CEC-exchangeable) and potentially bioavailable MTE fractions (DTPA-extractable) and pseudo-total MTE contents. On the one hand, the studied site was able to support a substantially higher than excepted biodiversity with orthopteran assemblages similar to grasslands and a diurnal Lepidoptera diversity comparable to urban parks. We also noted a positive influence of plant richness on the diurnal Lepidoptera community structure. On the other hand, topsoil analysis revealed a severe Pb contamination (1800–3100 mg kg−1) and a high potentially bioavailable Pb fraction (800–1300 mg kg−1). However, CEC-exchangeable MTE concentrations were all below the analytical quantification limits. Moreover, the site was characterized by a medium soil fertility.From these results, Pb contamination does not appear to be a primary limiting factor for the establishment of these communities. We assume that glasswork wasteland ecosytems are more affected by soil fertility or land management practices. To conclude, these sites are able to provide biodiversity ecosystem services, acting as wildlife sanctuaries for Orthoptera and diurnal Lepidoptera, and strategic metals by phytoextraction in a circular economy model. Thus, wasteland management practices should consider the local-scale drivers of biodiversity in order to reach at least the zero net loss of biodiversity.

Recovery of moth and butterfly (Lepidoptera) communities in a polluted region following emission decline.

Environmental pollution is one of the major drivers of the present-day decline in global biodiversity. However, the links between the effects of industrial pollution on insect communities and the underlying species-specific responses remain poorly understood. We explored the spatial pattern in insect communities by analysing 581 samples of moths and butterflies (containing 25,628 individuals of 345 species) collected along a strong pollution gradient in subarctic Russia, and we recorded temporal changes in these communities during the pollution decline that occurred from 1992 to 2006. In the 1990s, the diversity of the Lepidoptera community was positively correlated with the distance from the copper-nickel smelter at Monchegorsk. The overall abundance of Lepidoptera did not change along the pollution gradient, although the abundance of many species decreased with increasing pollution. The responses of each individual species to pollution were associated with its life history traits. The abundances of monophagous species that fed inside live plant tissues and hibernated as imagoes or pupae were not affected by pollution, whereas the abundances of oligophagous and polyphagous species that fed externally on plants and hibernated as larvae generally declined near the smelter. Substantial decreases in aerial emissions from the smelter between 1992 and 2006 resulted in an increase in the diversity of moths and butterflies in severely polluted habitats, whereas their overall abundance did not change. This recovery of the Lepidoptera community occurred due to the reappearance of rare species that had been previously extirpated by pollution and was observed despite the lack of any signs of recovery of the vegetation in the heavily polluted sites. We conclude that the recovery trajectories of insect communities following emission control can be predicted from studies of their changes along spatial pollution gradients by using space-for-time substitution.

Pace of life and mobility as key factors to survive in farmland – Relationships between functional traits of diurnal Lepidoptera and landscape structure

Agricultural intensification is known to lead to biotic homogenization by selecting against habitat and resource specialist species, but most studies on this phenomenon have been limited to certain parts of the landscape diversity gradient. We aimed to reveal the relationships between functional traits of diurnal Lepidoptera and landscape structure along a wide environmental gradient from nature reserves to intensive farmland in Baden-Württemberg, SW Germany. Butterflies and burnet moths were sampled along 1500 m long transects using ‘Pollard walk’ in 99 sites. Twenty nature reserves, 39 grassland-dominated and 40 arable-dominated agricultural landscapes were selected as study sites. Landscape structure was assessed within a 100 m buffer around each transect. The RLQ method and the ‘fourth-corner’ approach were combined to find statistical relationships between environmental factors and functional traits of Lepidoptera. We found a strong environmental gradient determined by landscape diversity and proportion of arable fields. Mobility, voltinism and overwintering stage were significantly correlated with these environmental variables. Butterflies with high mobility, high voltinism and non-larval overwintering stage were most abundant in landscapes with high proportion of arable fields and low landscape diversity. The second environmental gradient explained much less variance and separated less-intensively managed grasslands in nature reserves from conventionally managed grasslands in agricultural landscapes. Habitat specialization was correlated with this gradient as specialist butterflies were more abundant in grasslands in nature reserves. Larval diet breadth was not correlated with any environmental gradient or variable. We conclude that the mobility trait syndrome – comprising mobility, voltinism and overwintering stage – is independent from habitat and resource specialization and plays a primary role in shaping diurnal Lepidoptera communities in intensive agricultural landscapes with high cover of arable fields. We suggest that insect monitoring schemes should include some simple assessment of environmental variables to gain insight into the functioning of ecological communities beyond abundance trend estimations.

Communities of Lepidoptera along an elevational gradient in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea)

The diversity and composition of Lepidoptera communities vary along an elevational gradient, with richness and abundance generally decreasing as elevation increases. In Brazil, however, there is a lack of data on the topic and many elevation zones remain unexplored. This study aimed to examine the effect of elevation variation on the richness, frequency, abundance, and composition of Lepidoptera in an Atlantic Forest region in southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and we also present the first species list of Lepidoptera of the Fernão Dias Environmental Protection Area. The study was conducted between October 2019 and March 2020, and sampling was performed with the same sampling effort at three elevation levels by active (nets) and passive (bait trap) methods. A total of 622 Lepidoptera individuals, belonging to 154 species, were sampled. The family Nymphalidae exhibited thehighest richness and abundance. The highest elevation zone showed the greatest number of exclusive species. Richness and abundance were highest at middle elevation, but differences between elevation zones were not statistically significant. Richness estimators indicated a mean sampling efficiency of 64.97%. In contrast to the expected pattern, species richness was highest in middle and high elevation zones, which might reflect the greater degree of conservation of these areas. The findings reported here contribute to a better understanding of the diversity of Lepidoptera in higher elevation zones of Atlantic Forest regions in Brazil.

Effects of Patch Size, Fragmentation, and Invasive Species on Plant and Lepidoptera Communities in Southern Texas.

Simple SummaryHuman land use has removed habitats, separated habitats into small and disconnected fragments, and introduced foreign species, which all harm wildlife. South Texas is highly diverse and home to many endangered species, but human disturbance threatens its wildlife. In south Texas, we poorly understand how different aspects of human land use influence wildlife diversity and abundance. We studied this by surveying plants and butterflies in 24 habitat fragments in south Texas that differed in size, shape, type, and land use history. Human disturbance was extensive, and foreign and weedy species were dominant in most habitats. Habitat types had distinctive sets of plants and butterflies, but habitats with the most human disturbance were the least distinct and had the most foreign or weedy species. Usually, larger and less-fragmented habitats have fewer foreign and weedy species and have higher diversity, and habitats with more foreign and weedy species have lower diversity, but only the first of these was true in our study. This suggests that historic sets of native plants are very rare, most areas are actively recovering from disturbance, and foreign species are now a normal part of communities. This study helps us understand how human land use impacts wildlife and how we can better manage land to protect and enhance wildlife.Habitat loss, fragmentation, and invasive species are major threats to biodiversity. In the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of southern Texas, a conservation hotspot, few studies have examined how land use change and biotic disturbance influence biodiversity, particularly among Lepidoptera. We surveyed 24 habitat fragments on private lands in the LRGV and examined how patch size, edge to interior ratio (EIR), prevalence of invasive, exotic, and pest (IEP) plant species, and other environmental factors influenced plant and Lepidoptera communities within four habitat classes. Biotic disturbance was widespread and intense. IEP plants represented three of the four most common species in all but one habitat class; yet, classes largely had distinctive plant and Lepidoptera communities. Larger habitat patches had lower IEP prevalence but also lower plant richness and lower Lepidoptera richness and abundance. Conversely, patches with higher EIRs had greater IEP prevalence, plant richness, and Lepidoptera richness and abundance. IEP prevalence was negatively related to plant diversity and positively related to woody dominance, blooming plant abundance, and, surprisingly, both plant cover and richness. However, plant richness, abundance, and diversity were higher where a greater proportion of the plants were native. Lepidoptera diversity increased with plant cover, and Lepidoptera richness and abundance increased with plant richness. More individual Lepidoptera species were influenced by habitat attributes than by availability of resources such as host plants or nectar sources. Our results illustrate extensive landscape alteration and biotic disturbance and suggest that most regional habitats are at early successional stages and populated by a novel species pool heavy in IEP species; these factors must be considered together to develop effective and realistic management plans for the LRGV.

Efecto de la matriz ganadera sobre mariposas diurnas (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) en fragmentos de bosque seco, Patía (Cauca, Colombia)

El Patía, (Cauca, Colombia) es una zona caracterizada por ser vulnerable a intervenciones antrópicas y fenómenos naturales, lo cual motiva a realizar estudios que reflejen las dinámicas ecológicas empleando organismos indicadores biológicos como las mariposas. Esta investigación evaluó el efecto de la matriz ganadera sobre la comunidad de mariposas diurnas (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) en Las Martas y La Pachuca, dos fragmentos de bosque seco del Patía. Se emplearon dos métodos de captura: jama entomológica y trampas van Someren Rydon cebadas con pescado y banano descompuestos, establecidos en dos transectos de 300 m cada uno, para cada fragmento. Los muestreos se realizaron entre septiembre 2014 y febrero 2015. Entre los dos fragmentos se registraron 679 individuos, distribuidos en seis familias Nymphalidae (61,12 %), Pieridae (19,00 %), Hesperiidae (13,99 %), Papilionidae (2,65 %), Lycaenidae (2,21 %) y Riodinidae (1,03 %), 14 subfamilias y 81 especies. El coeficiente de Jaccard obtuvo 0,43 de similitud entre la comunidad de lepidópteros diurnos, compartiendo 35 especies del total registrado. La eficiencia del muestreo estuvo entre 48,38 y 67,9 %, sugiriendo continuar con los muestreos en los fragmentos. Se concluye que existe un fuerte efecto de la ganadería extensiva en la comunidad de lepidópteros diurnos, sin embargo, las especies que se registraron como euritopas y estenotopas pueden ser clave para elaborar planes de conservación basados en corredores biológicos.

Flying between raindrops: Strong seasonal turnover of several Lepidoptera groups in lowland rainforests of Mount Cameroon.

Although seasonality in the tropics is often less pronounced than in temperate areas, tropical ecosystems show seasonal dynamics as well. Nevertheless, individual tropical insects’ phenological patterns are still poorly understood, especially in the Afrotropics. To fill this gap, we investigated biodiversity patterns of Lepidoptera communities at three rainforest localities in the foothills of Mount Cameroon, West Africa, one of the wettest places in the world. Our multitaxa approach covered six lepidopteran groups (fruit‐feeding butterflies and moths, the families Sphingidae, Saturniidae, and Eupterotidae, and the subfamily Arctiinae of Erebidae) with diverse life strategies. We sampled adults of the focal groups in three distinct seasons. Our sampling included standardized bait trapping (80 traps exposed for 10 days per locality and season) and attraction by light (six full nights per locality and season). Altogether, our dataset comprised 20,576 specimens belonging to 559 (morpho)species of the focal groups. The biodiversity of Lepidoptera generally increased in the high‐dry season, and either increased (fruit‐feeding moths, Arctiinae, Saturniidae) or decreased (butterflies, Sphingidae) in the transition to the wet season in particular groups. Simultaneously, we revealed a strong species turnover of fruit‐feeding Lepidoptera and Arctiinae among the seasons, indicating relatively high specialization of these communities for particular seasons. Such temporal specialization can make the local communities of butterflies and moths especially sensitive to the expected seasonal perturbations caused by the global change. Because of the key role of Lepidoptera across trophic levels, such changes in their communities could strengthen this impact on entire tropical ecosystems.

Native Prairie Graminoid Host Plants of Minnesota and Associated Lepidoptera: A Literature Review

Native grasses act as host plants, providing food and shelter, for numerous Lepidoptera species during their larval stage. As grassland habitat decreases because of conversion to agriculture and urban areas, prairie specialist butterflies and moths have also declined. Addition of native species to urban and agriculture landscapes has been shown to benefit Lepidoptera communities in various ways. Native grasses have grown in popularity as a landscaping plant due to their low nutrient requirements, drought tolerance, and soil stabilization properties. However, the benefits of native grasses to Lepidoptera are not well known to many entomologists or horticulturists, let alone the average consumer. We reviewed the literature that identified native prairie graminoids as host plants for native Lepidoptera in Minnesota, especially plants widely available in the horticultural trade that could be planted for restoration or landscaping purposes. The context of the Lepidoptera and host plant associations found in the literature are described. In total, we found 36 Lepidoptera species that used 17 prairie graminoids as host plants cited in the literature. Three native grasses, Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, Andropogon gerardii Vitman and Panicum virgatum L. and were found to be used by the most Lepidoptera species, 11, 9, and 8, respectively. Most likely there are additional moth species that use these grasses as host plants because butterfly species tend to be better documented than moth species. The specific larval habits and host plant species were unknown for many species of moths that feed or are suspected to feed on graminoids, showing the need for further research in this area. This information can assist horticulturalists, ecologists, landscape planners, land managers, and homeowners in their decisions to buy and plant native grass species. In general, this knowledge provides increased awareness about the larval life stage of butterflies and moths to concerned citizens and green industry and further supports the importance of conserving native prairie to support and maintain Lepidoptera species.

Experimental evidence for optimal hedgerow cutting regimes for Brown hairstreak butterflies

Abstract The Brown hairstreak butterfly has declined in range and abundance over the past 50 years, leading to designated conservation status in several European countries including England and Wales. The Brown hairstreak's decline has been linked to changes in hedgerow management, based on mortality of eggs over winter and female oviposition preferences. We assessed Brown hairstreak egg abundance in late winter over 4 years in response to hedgerow management treatments to manipulate the frequency, timing, and the intensity of trimming (reduced intensity resulting in an annual increase of approximately 10 cm in hedge height and width), using a field experiment with a randomised block design. Hedgerow plots cut every year to a standard height and width had the lowest Brown hairstreak egg abundance; this is the most common hedgerow management outside agri‐environment schemes (AES). Cutting hedgerow plots at a reduced intensity nearly doubled the number of surviving eggs in late winter. Plots cut at a reduced frequency in autumn (once every 3 years), which forms part of current English AES, had 1.3 times more eggs than those cut annually. Current AES management prescriptions are likely to benefit the Brown hairstreak, but its requirements need to be balanced with those of other taxa in relation to the timing of hedgerow cutting. Cutting hedges at a reduced intensity has previously been shown to benefit the wider Lepidoptera community as well as Brown hairstreak butterflies. Reduced intensity cutting does not currently form part of AES hedgerow prescriptions, but could be considered for inclusion in future schemes.

Relazione fra diversità del paesaggio in ecosistemi forestali montani mediterranei e diversità dei Lepidotteri a differenti scale spaziali

Abstract: The diversity in composition of moth communities living forest habitats is strongly related to habitat characteristics, depending mainly on dominant forest type. The species in a community have different behaviors and are more or less influenced by the surrounding landscape diversity. The effects of landscape diversity on moth communities are significant when the appropriate spatial scale is considered, which depends on the ecological needs and dispersion abilities of species. In this study we assessed the relationships between landscape diversity at different spatial scales in four different forest Calabrian scenarios, identified by using the CORINE Land Cover, and moth diversity. Nocturnal Lepidoptera were sampled in beech, chestnut, Calabrian black pine and fir forests by using LED light traps. In each forest type 9 traps were positioned, in a total of 36 sample plots selected by the maturity of forest. The diversity of Lepidoptera communities was related to landscape diversity, considering each sample plots as the center of the surrounding landscape analyzed with different buffers (500m, 1000m, 2000m, 3000m, and 5000m). Diversity moth-landscape correlations were performed for: (i) all 36 sample plots; (ii) only broadleaves forest sites; (iii) only conifers forest sites; (iv) only forested plots; (v) only non-forested plots. Our results suggest that landscape composition in forest ecosystems, both at small and medium spatial scale, have a driving role in determining moth communities diversity, pointing out that the landscape structure is a parameter to taking in account for the sustainable management of forests.

Low host specificity and abundance of frugivorous lepidoptera in the lowland rain forests of Papua New Guinea.

We studied a community of frugivorous Lepidoptera in the lowland rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Rearing revealed 122 species represented by 1,720 individuals from 326 woody plant species. Only fruits from 52% (171) of the plant species sampled were attacked. On average, Lepidoptera were reared from 1 in 89 fruits and a kilogram of fruit was attacked by 1.01 individuals. Host specificity of Lepidoptera was notably low: 69% (33) of species attacked plants from >1 family, 8% (4) fed on single family, 6% (3) on single genus and 17% (8) were monophagous. The average kilogram of fruits was infested by 0.81 individual from generalist species (defined here as feeding on >1 plant genus) and 0.07 individual from specialist species (feeding on a single host or congeneric hosts). Lepidoptera preferred smaller fruits with both smaller mesocarp and seeds. Large-seeded fruits with thin mesocarp tended to host specialist species whereas those with thick, fleshy mesocarp were often infested with both specialist and generalist species. The very low incidence of seed damage suggests that pre-dispersal seed predation by Lepidoptera does not play a major role in regulating plant populations via density-dependent mortality processes outlined by the Janzen-Connell hypothesis.

Comparing the responses of larval and adult lepidopteran communities to timber harvest using long-term, landscape-scale studies in oak-hickory forests

Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) are important components of forest ecosystems; they affect tree growth and influence nutrient cycling as caterpillars, provide food for higher trophic levels as caterpillars and adults, and are pollinators as adults. Here, we report on and compare the results of two long-term studies of the effects of logging on Lepidoptera in oak hickory forests. In one study, the Missouri Ozark Forest Ecosystem Project (MOFEP), caterpillars were used as response taxa. Sampling via observation without removal focused on larvae found on leaves of two dominant tree species, Quercus alba and Q. velutina, in alternative harvest regimes. In a second, the Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment of Indiana (HEE), we examined the response of adults to alternative harvest levels by sampling with blacklighting. Caterpillar sampling in MOFEP and in an associated chronosequence revealed that clearcutting decreases numbers and diversity of Lepidoptera, year effects were as important in influencing caterpillar assemblages as the harvest per se, and that species richness of caterpillars continued to increase each year post-harvest. When using adult moths as response taxa, species composition was resilient to timber harvest under shelterwood management, recovering to the near original condition three years post treatment. Communities in patch cut or clear cut stands were slower to recover, and appeared to develop novel communities relative to their pre-harvest condition. A late spring frost decreased abundance and species richness of caterpillars, while a severe drought impacted adult lepidopterans, depressing species richness in patch cut stands to a greater degree than in control or shelterwood cut stands. Together, these results demonstrate that Lepidoptera communities in oak-history forests respond immediately to logging due to changes in host plant availability, but may also be impacted many years subsequent due to stochastic year effects and seral changes in forest structure and composition.

Little and late: How reduced hedgerow cutting can benefit Lepidoptera

Hedgerows are a key semi-natural habitat for biodiversity in intensive agricultural landscapes across northern Europe and support a large invertebrate fauna. Management can have large effects on the value of hedgerows as a wildlife habitat, thus sensitive management is incentivised through agri-environment schemes (AES). We tested how current and potential future AES hedge management regimes affected the diversity and abundance of Lepidoptera species that utilise the hedge as a breeding resource, using a long term, multi-site, manipulative field experiment. Hedgerow management in some current AES options (reduced trimming frequency and cutting in winter) increased Lepidoptera abundance and the diversity of components of the Lepidoptera community linked with specific lifecycle traits. However, the most frequently applied hedgerow AES option currently applied in the UK (cutting once every 2 years in autumn) did not benefit Lepidoptera compared to standard hedgerow management outside AES (annual trimming in autumn). Decreasing the intensity of hedgerow trimming improves the diversity of the whole Lepidoptera assemblage, and should be considered as part of biodiversity conservation in farmed landscapes.

An indicator highlights seasonal variation in the response of Lepidoptera communities to warming

The impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems are increasingly evident. While these tend to be clearest with respect to changes in phenology and distribution ranges, there are also important consequences for population sizes and community structure. There is an urgent need to develop ecological indicators that can be used to detect climate-driven changes in ecological communities, and identify how those impacts may vary spatially. Here we describe the development of a new community-based seasonal climate change indicator that uses national population and weather indices. We test this indicator using Lepidopteran and co-located weather data collected across a range of UK Environmental Change Network (ECN) sites. We compare our butterfly indicator with estimates derived from an alternative, previously published metric, the Community Temperature Index (CTI).First, we quantified the effect of temperature on population growth rates of moths and butterflies (Species Temperature Response, STR) by modelling annual variation in national population indices as a function of nationally averaged seasonal variation in temperature, using species and weather data independent of the ECN data. Then, we calculated average STRs for annually summarised species data from each ECN site, weighted by species’ abundance, to produce the Community Temperature Response (CTR). Finally, we tested the extent to which CTR correlated with spatial variation in temperature between sites and the extent to which temporal variation in CTR tracked both annual and seasonal warming trends.Mean site CTR was positively correlated with mean site temperature for moths but not butterflies. However, spatial variation in moth communities was well explained by mean site summer temperature and butterfly communities by winter temperature, respectively accounting for 74% and 63% of variation. Temporal variation in moth and butterfly CTR within sites did not vary with the mean annual temperature but responded to variation in the mean temperature of specific seasons. There were positive correlations between moth seasonal CTRs and seasonal temperatures in winter, spring and summer; and butterfly seasonal CTRs and seasonal temperatures in winter and summer. Butterfly CTR and CTI both correlated spatially and temporally with winter temperature.Our results highlight the need for seasonality to be considered when examining the impact of climate change on communities. Seasonal CTRs may be used to track the impact of changing temperatures on biodiversity and help identify potential mechanisms by which climate change is affecting communities. In the case of Lepidoptera, our results suggest that future warming may reassemble Lepidoptera communities.

Phylogenetic Overdispersion in Lepidoptera Communities of Amazonian White‐sand Forests

AbstractIn the Amazon basin and the Guiana Shield, white‐sand (WS) forests are recognized as a low‐resource habitat often composed by a distinct flora with many edaphic endemic plants. Small patches of nutrient‐poor white‐sand forests can pose a series of challenges to plants and animals. For plants, these challenges have been shown to function as strong filters that in turn drive taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic plant composition. However, very little is known about animal communities in WS forest and the effect that low‐resource availability may have on higher trophic levels. Here, we investigate the diversity of both taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of three Lepidoptera families' (Nymphalidae, Saturniidae, and Sphingidae) assemblages between low‐resource (White‐Sand Forest) and two adjacent high‐resource habitats, terra firme clay and seasonally flooded forests. We found no clear effect of habitat type on taxonomic composition although butterfly and moth species abundance differed among the three contrasted habitats. The WS forest Lepidoptera community is significantly more phylogenetically overdispersed than expected by chance. We suggest that these low‐resource habitats filter the number of plant lineages which, in turn, creates a bottom‐up control structuring Lepidoptera phylogenetic structure. We recommend long‐term sampling on Lepidoptera community both at larval and adult stages that may complement this study and test hypotheses linking herbivore phylogenetic structure to plant resource availability and trophic cascade theory.