Obtain information about the diversity of butterflies collect detailed information about what would have to be done to establish a butterfly garden in your school
Answers
Butterflies are one of the most conspicuous species of Earth’s biodiversity. Being extremely responsive to any changes in their environment, namely, temperature, humidity, light, and rainfall patterns [1–4], these insects are identified as useful bioindicators. They have different requirements for different habitat types for mating, breeding, and nectaring and are, thus, in sync with the diversity and quality of their habitats.
The present study aims to examine the diversity and distribution of butterflies across three different habitats, namely, dry deciduous, open scrub, and urbanized habitat. A checklist of butterfly species is also provided.
The survey of butterfly was done using Pollard walk method [5, 6] from 8 am to 10 am. The butterflies were observed within 2.5 meters to the left and right side and five meters in front of the observer. Butterflies were observed, captured, identified, and released immediately at the spot of capture. A butterfly net was used for this purpose. Many of the species were photographed in the wild. The dead specimens, many of them not in very good condition, were kept in butterfly collection boxes. Collecting live specimens was avoided during the study.
A total of 55 butterfly species with a total of 815 individuals belonging to 5 families were recorded (with photographic record) during the study. The butterfly list along with their abundance in different habitats is given in Table 1. There are 8 species with lowest individual number having abundance less than 5 in all the three habitats. The three most abundant species are Eurema brigitta (with 48 individuals) followed by Eurema hecabe (with 45 individuals) and Junonia lemonias (with 34 individuals). The greatest number of all these three species occurred in open scrub. Out of 55 species, 52 were found in open scrub followed by 49 species in dry deciduous habitat and then 44 species in urbanized habitat.
One important aspect of study is the statistics of common species between different habitats which indicates the beta diversity and how different (or similar) these habitats are in terms of the variety and abundance of species found in them. The open scrub and dry deciduous habitat showed highest number of shared species (47 species), as these areas are relatively more rich in food resources in terms of nectars for butterflies. Species community structure was different among habitats, but rather similar in the open scrub and dry deciduous habitat. Many species of butterflies depend on remnant vegetation or secondary forest for survival, especially in urban areas [15, 16]. So for the conservation of species in human dominated landscape, any institutional campus maintaining high plant diversity and different types of habitats is a good option.
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