More than just indicators: A review of tropical butterfly ecology and conservation

Bonebrake, Timothy C.; Ponisio, Lauren C.; Boggs, Carol L.; Ehrlich, Paul R.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.04.044

Cited by 245 publications

(215 citation statements)

References 155 publications

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“…In agricultural systems, butterflies are suspected to be important pollinators of wild and cultivated crop species (Munyuli 2010). Roughly, 90% of butterfly species live in the tropics (Boriani et al 2005;Bonebrake et al 2010). However, knowledge of butterflies inhabiting farmland habitats is fairly good in Mediterranean regions compared with the sub-Saharan Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers of species richness and abundance of butterflies in coffee–banana agroforests in Uganda

Munyuli

2012

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Servic

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A study was conducted in 26 sites on agricultural landscapes in Central Uganda to collect baseline information about important drivers of butterfly richness and abundance. Data were collected for 1 year (2006) using line transects walk-and-counts, fruit-bait traps and handnets sampling methods. A total of 57,439 individuals belonging to 331 species were collected. Totals of 127, 131 and 299 species were recorded in transect counts, banana-bait and handnets, respectively. Of the 57,439 individuals registered, 75%, 19% and 6% were recorded in transect counts, handnet and banana-bait trap, respectively. Butterfly abundance and species richness were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by climatic factors (rainfall, temperature) in previous years (2004 and 2005) and richness and abundance of wild nectaring plants. Butterfly species richness (not the abundance) decreased with land-use intensity (p < 0.05) and was positively related to the cover of semi-natural habitats. Both butterfly species richness and abundance declined sharply with forest distance. Nearby forest remnants and high cover of semi-natural habitats are thus important for conservation of butterflies in coffee-banana agroforestry systems and farmers should be encouraged to protect such resources.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, knowledge of butterflies inhabiting farmland habitats is fairly good in Mediterranean regions compared with the sub-Saharan Africa. The relative scarcity of data on tropical butterfly populations hampers the ability to effectively conserve them, particularly as pollinating agents (Bonebrake et al 2010) in agricultural systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of species richness and abundance of butterflies in coffee–banana agroforests in Uganda

Munyuli

2012

International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Servic

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“…Therefore, the conservation of butterfly diversity is achievable by the enhancement of vegetation in habitats specifically preferred by butterflies (Lawton et al 1998). Some butterflies are ecological indicator species and play a vital role by cross-pollination of plants (Bonebrake et al 2010). We found our study area to have a rich diversity of butterfly species, which include nine rare and threatened species listed under schedule I of part IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diversity of butterflies in an arboretum of Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Bhatt

Nagar

2017

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Potent pollinators and ecological indicators, butterflies are important for estimating the general health of an ecosystem. Owing to the rich plant diversity (927 species), an arboretum in Vadodara, state of Gujarat, India was selected for surveying butterfly diversity. Our survey was conducted in all seasons for an entire year from October 2012 to October 2013 and revealed 61 species. Recorded were six species of Papilionidae, three species of Hesperiidae, 20 species of Nymphalidae, 13 species of Pieridae, and 19 species of Lycaenidae. Junonia dominated with five species, followed by Eurema (three species), Graphium (three species), and Chilades (three species). Our study gives a comprehensive insight into the species diversity and richness of butterflies in Vadodara and highlights the need to conserve rare and threatened butterfly species there.

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“…The use of insecticides in agriculture is well documented as one cause of pollinator declines, especially when spraying times coincide with flowering times (Nicholls and Altieri, 2013). Several studies have suggested that butterflies are key taxa and good indicators for the monitoring of anthropogenic disturbance, including the effect of xenobiotics, and habitat quality (Bonebrake et al, 2010;EEA, 2013). In addition, it has been estimated that approximately 70% of butterfly species (Papilionidae and Hesperiidae) occur in arable land (Boriani et al, 2005;Fileccia et al, 2015), potentially exposing them to various insecticide intensities, depending on their spatial and temporal overlap with applications.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Systematic Review of the Effects of Chemical Insecticides on Four Common Butterfly Families

Mulé

Sabella

Robba

et al. 2017

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Safeguarding crop productivity by protecting crops from pest attacks entails the wide use of plant protection products that provide a quick, easy and cheap solution. The objective of this study is to understand the effects of insecticides used in agriculture on non-target butterflies, specifically on the families Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Hesperiidae, and Papilionidae. To achieve this goal, a formal systematic review was performed according to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) guidelines, by entering a combination of keywords on 3 online databases. Three reviewers independently extracted information on study characteristics and quality. The main results were collected and grouped by the insecticide used, butterflies species and family, and endpoints. The output was valuable but heterogeneous as the endpoints and methodologies of the studies reviewed were different. Few experimental studies on the effects of insecticides on the most common butterfly families have been published. Naled and permethrin are the most commonly used insecticides in the experiments, whilst the target organisms of these studies are Vanessa cardui, Danaus plexippus, Heliconius charitonius, belonging to the Nymphalidae family, and Eumaeus atala, belonging to the Lycaenidae family; the effects were evaluated on all developmental stages, with special attention to the larval phase. This systematic review highlights the need for more studies on the effects of chemical insecticides on non-target Lepidoptera in light of their ecological importance and the extensive use of these chemical products.

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More than just indicators: A review of tropical butterfly ecology and conservation

Cited by 245 publications

References 155 publications

Drivers of species richness and abundance of butterflies in coffee–banana agroforests in Uganda

Drivers of species richness and abundance of butterflies in coffee–banana agroforests in Uganda

Diversity of butterflies in an arboretum of Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Systematic Review of the Effects of Chemical Insecticides on Four Common Butterfly Families

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