Species composition, abundance and distribution of butterflies in a home garden habitat located at Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya district, Sri Lanka

Abstract

The species richness, abundance and distribution of butterflies associated with a home garden, which was comprised of three micro-habitats; a grassland [GL], shrubland [SL] and disturbed-forest [DF], at Hanguranketha region, Nuwara Eliya district, was determined for a period of four months from September to December 2021, using a visual encounter survey. At each habitat, a belt transect (100 m x 10 m) was set up, and weekly observations were made within 20 minutes in the morning and the afternoon. Species diversity and the evenness were estimated using the Shannon-Weiner diversity index. A total of 32 species representing five families, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae were encountered. Two species were reported as endangered, while 10 were endemic sub-species. These families were observed in all the three habitats, with the exception of Papilionidae in the GL. Nymphalidae was the most diverse family in DF (35 %) and SL (48 %) whereas Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae made up the most diversity in the GL (37 %). The DF harbored the highest species richness (88 %) and GL had the lowest (34 %). Altogether, 873 individuals were detected over four months. The abundance was found to be similar (P>0.05) in the DF and SL, but lower (P<0.05) in the grassland compared to the other two habitats. The maximum relative abundance was detected (61 %) in the Nymphalidae, while Hesperiidae showed the second highest abundance. The highest diversity (H=2.91) was recorded in the DF with 0.876 in evenness. Butterfly counts in the morning hours outnumbered the evening hours (P<0.05). A reduction in butterfly counts (P<0.05) was detected during November and December. The findings of this study revealed that this home garden is rich in butterflies and proper conservation mechanisms are essentially needed to protect them.

Full text

Rathnayake et. al. Species composition
Vingnanam Journal of Science, Vol. 18 (2), December 2023 1
Species composition, abundance and distribution of butterflies
in a home garden habitat located at
Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya district, Sri Lanka
R.R.M.U.N.B. Rathnayake*, D.S. Karunarathna and W.T.S. Dammini Premachandra
Faculty of Science, University of Ruhuna, Matara, Sri Lanka
*Email: udaranipuna97@gmail.com
Abstract: The species richness, abundance and distribution of butterflies associated with a home garden, which
was comprised of three micro-habitats; a grassland [GL], shrubland [SL] and disturbed-forest [DF], at
Hanguranketha region, Nuwara Eliya district, was determined for a period of four months from September to
December 2021, using a visual encounter survey. At each habitat, a belt transect (100 m x 10 m) was set up, and
weekly observations were made within 20 minutes in the morning and the afternoon. Species diversity and the
evenness were estimated using the Shannon-Weiner diversity index. A total of 32 species representing five
families, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae were encountered. Two species were
reported as endangered, while 10 were endemic sub-species. These families were observed in all the three habitats,
with the exception of Papilionidae in the GL. Nymphalidae was the most diverse family in DF (35 %) and SL (48
%) whereas Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae made up the most diversity in the GL (37 %). The DF harbored the
highest species richness (88 %) and GL had the lowest (34 %). Altogether, 873 individuals were detected over
four months. The abundance was found to be similar (P>0.05) in the DF and SL, but lower (P<0.05) in the
grassland compared to the other two habitats. The maximum relative abundance was detected (61 %) in the
Nymphalidae, while Hesperiidae showed the second highest abundance. The highest diversity (H=2.91) was
recorded in the DF with 0.876 in evenness. Butterfly counts in the morning hours outnumbered the evening hours
(P<0.05). A reduction in butterfly counts (P<0.05) was detected during November and December. The findings
of this study revealed that this home garden is rich in butterflies and proper conservation mechanisms are
essentially needed to protect them.
Keywords: Species richness, abundance, butterflies, diversity, habitats, species richness
1. INTRODUCTION
Butterflies (Superfamily Papilionoidea)
belonging to order Lepidoptera, class Insecta,
are one of the most colourful organisms with a
great aesthetic value (Silva et al., 2021). They
play a vital ecological role not only as
pollinators (Culliney & Pimentel, 1986) but also
as major components in food chains (Tati-
Subahar et al., 2007). Butterflies show a great
habitat preference and their species
composition, abundance and distribution are
negatively affected by the habitat variations and
disturbances as well as climate changes. Hence,
they serve as an excellent bio-indicators in
terrestrial ecosystems (Haneda & Panggabean,
2019). Sri Lanka is one of the famous
biodiversity hotspots in the world with a great
diversity of butterflies (Van der Poorten G.,
2012). Van der Poorten and Van der Poorten
(2016) reported that the variable topography,
favorable climate conditions and heterogenic
structure of vegetation have provided a
favorable environment for the prevalence of
butterflies. A total of 247 butterfly species
belonging to 31 endemic species and 84 endemic
sub-species representing six families,
Papilionidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae,
Riodinidae, Hesperiidae, and Pieridae have been
reported by van der Poorten and van der Poorten
(2016). Apart from that, several previous
investigations focused on butterfly assemblage
at different localities such as national parks
(Samarasinghe et al., 2013; Bambaradeniya et
al., 2001), sanctuaries (Bambaradeniya et al.,
2002a; Perera et al., 2005), mangrove estuaries
(Bambaradeniya et al., 2002b) and rain forests
(Bambaradeniya et al., 2003, Aluthwattha et al.,
2009) and forest regeneration sites (Weerakoon
& Ranawana, 2021). However, to date, the
information on butterfly assemblage in Nuwara
Eliya district is scarce in the literature.

Rathnayake et. al. Species composition
Vingnanam Journal of Science, Vol. 18 (2), December 2023 2
Therefore, the present study was undertaken to
determine the species diversity, abundance and
distribution in a home garden environment
located at Hanguranketha region, Nuwara Eliya
district.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Study Sites
The study was conducted in a home garden (area
of 900 m2), located at Hanguranketha region
(7.1773° N, 80.7760° E) of Nuwara Eliya
district (Figure 1). The average temperature of
the area is 22±5°C while the average relative
humidity is 89±4%. The annual rainfall is
around 2000 mm. The elevation is about 1029 m
above sea level. Three habitats, a grassland
(GL), shrubland (SL) and a disturbed forest
patch (DF) were selected for the study
(Figure 2). The GL was dominated by plants like
Eleusine indica, Setaria barbata and Axonopus
compressus. In addition, small herbaceous
plants such as, Urena lobate and Sida acuta
were also found there. The SL consisted of
Stachytarpheta urticifolia, Lantana camera,
Ixora coocinea, Ochlandra stridula, Crotalaria
pallida and Murraya koenigii. DF had human-
planted trees like Mangifera indica, Psidium
guajava, Cassia fistula, Citrus grandis, Punica
granatum, Sesbania grandiflora, Albizia lebbek,
Elaeocarpus serratus, Neolitsea fuscata and
Annona muricata. This disturbed forest patch
extends to an undisturbed forest reserve.
2.2 Sampling Techniques
Sampling was carried out for a period of four
months from September to December 2021. At
each site, a single 100 m long transect was
established. All the butterflies sighted up to 5 m
from each side of the transect were identified
and counted in the morning from 9.00 a.m. to
9.20 a.m. and in the evening from 3.00 p.m. to
3.20 p.m. in weekly intervals. Butterflies were
observed for 20 minutes at each transect.
Photographs were also taken for the
confirmation of species identification.
Taxonomic keys and field guides were used to
identify butterflies to the species level (Heppner
and Duckworth, 1981; Gamage, 2014;
Wijeyeratne, 2015; Jayasinghe, 2015; van der
Poorten, 2016). Shannon-Wiener diversity index
(Equation 1) and Shannon evenness
(Equation 2) were calculated with respect to
each habitat (Magurran, 1988).
Equation 1:   󰌣󰇟󰇛󰇜 󰇛󰇜󰇠
where,
H = Shannon-Weiner Index
pi = Proportion of total sample
represented by species i.
Equation 2:   

where,
E = Evenness
H = Shannon-Weiner Index
H max = lnS
S = Number of Species
Rainfall and temperature data during the
sampling period were obtained from the
Department of Meteorology.
2.3 Data Analysis
Butterfly abundance among the three habitats
were compared using one-way ANOVA after
subjecting to square root (X+1) transformation.
Mean separation was performed using the Tukey
multiple range test. In addition, the abundance
of butterflies in the morning and afternoon was
compared using the student's t test. SAS
statistical package (SAS Institute, 1999) was
used for all the analysis at 0.05 significance
level.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In total, 873 individual butterflies belonging to
five families, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae,
Nymphalidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae, and 32
species were detected (Table 1). Among them,
there were 10 endemic sub-species and two

Rathnayake et. al. Species composition
Vingnanam Journal of Science, Vol. 18 (2), December 2023 3
Figure 1: Map showing the location of home garden habitat in Hanguranketha, Nuwara Eliya district
(Google Earth, 2010)
Figure 2: The locations of the three different
study sites.
endangered species. Overall, the family
Nymphalidae constituted the highest number of
species (37.50%). The relative species
diversities of Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae,
Papilionidae and Pieridae were recorded as
06.25%, 21.88%, 12.50% and 21.87%,
respectively, irrespective of the habitat type
(Figure 3). In the DF and the SL, all the five
butterfly families were encountered while in the
GL four families were detected excluding
Papilionidae. The highest species richness was
recorded in the DF (88%) followed by the SL
(78%). GL constituted 11 species. Ten common
species were recorded in all the habitats whereas
12 species were found in the DF as well as in SL.
Figure 3: Percentage of overall butterfly species
belonging to five families.
Some species were found to be restricted to only
one habitat, i.e., one, three and six species in GL,
SL and DF, respectively.
The highest overall abundance (530 individuals;
61% relative abundance) was detected in
Nymphalidae followed by Hesperiidae (116
individuals; 13.3%) (Table 01). There was a
significant difference in abundance of butterflies
(F= 12,65; df=2, 45; P<0.000) among the three
habitats. The abundance in the GL was
significantly lower (P<0.05) compared to DF
and the SL; however, no significant difference in
abundance (P>0.05) was detected between DF
and the SL. The highest relative species
abundance was shown by Ypthima ceylonica

Rathnayake et. al. Species composition
Vingnanam Journal of Science, Vol. 18 (2), December 2023 4
(Family: Nymphalidae) (relative abundance: DF
13.81%; GL: 24.63%; SL 15.43%) followed by
Mycalesis patnia (Family: Nymphalidae)
(relative abundance: DF 13.51%; GL: 20.68%;
SL 12.75%). Overall abundance of butterflies
recorded in the morning was found to be
significantly higher compared to evening (DF:
t=3.92; P<0.0005; GL: 2.64; P<0.0129; SL:
t=3.34; P<0.0022; df=30). Shannon Weiner
diversity index and evenness were estimated as
2.91, 2.08 and 2.78, and 0.876, 0.868 and 0.862
with respect to DF, GL and SL, respectively.
(Figure 4).
Figure 4: Shannon Weiner diversity index and
evenness index for butterfly species with respect
to three habitat types.
The overall abundance of butterflies over four
months varied significantly (F=6.87; df=3, 12;
P<0.0025). The abundance in November and
December appeared to be significantly lower
(P<0.05) compared to September and October.
However, there was no significant difference in
abundance (P>0.05) between September and
October as well as November and December.
Overall abundance in September was 30.92%
while the minimum was 17.64% in December.
Similar trend was detected in all the three
habitats (Figure 5).
In the present study, we were able to encounter
13% of the butterfly species so far recorded in
Sri Lanka by van der Poorten and van der
Poorten (2016). A previous survey conducted by
Kottawa-arachchi et al. (2014) in tea plantations
of Nuwara Eliya district recorded 43 butterfly
species over one year (Kottawa-arachchi et al.,
2014). In our study, we encountered 32 species
within four months and there were 18 common
species in both studies. Moreover, Slater et al.
(2019) encountered 30 species and 11
unidentified butterflies from Wasgamuwa
National Park located in central highlands in Sri
Lanka. In this study, 11 butterfly species were
reported from Shrubland. In our study, we
identified 08 species reported by Slater et al.
(2019) in the Shrub land at Hanguranketha
region.
Figure 5: Abundance of butterflies in different
months with respect to three habitat types.
Figure 6: Fluctuation of butterfly abundance,
mean rainfall and mean temperature over four
months.
Our findings indicated that the species richness
varied with the habitat type in an ascending
order of <GL<SL<DF, corroborating the
findings of Peiris et al. (2020). However, the
abundance of the butterflies in the DF and the
SL was found to be more or less similar.
Abundance of butterflies mainly depends on the
availability of the food resources for adults and
larvae (Silva et al., 2021). The high species

Rathnayake et. al. Species composition
Vingnanam Journal of Science, Vol. 18 (2), December 2023 5
Table 1: Information on butterfly species recorded at three different habitat types
Habitat
Family
Species
Common Name
Abundance
Grassland
Hesperiidae
Iambrix minuta
Chestnut Bob
20
Suastus gremius
Indian Palm Bob
8
Lycaenidae
Castalius rosimon
Common Pierrot
5
Jamides bochus
Dark Cerulean
3
Jamides celeno
Common Cerulean
21
Lampides boeticus
Pea Blue
3
Nymphalidae
Mycalesis patnia
Glad Eye Bush Brown
42
Mycalesis perseus
Common Bush Brown
20
Neptis hylas
Common Sailor
20
Ypthima ceylonica
White Four Ring
50
Pieridae
Eurema blanda
Three Spot Grass Yellow
11
Shrubland
Hesperiidae
Iambrix minuta
Chestnut Bob
33
Suastus gremius
Indian Palm Bob
16
Lycaenidae
Jamides bochus
Dark Cerulean
6
Jamides celeno
Common Cerulean
23
Lampides boeticus
Pea Blue
12
Loxura atymnus
Yam Fly
4
Spalgis epius
Ape Fly
2
Nymphalidae
Danaus chrysippus
Plain Tiger
4
Elymnias singala
Common Palm Fly
5
Euploea core
Common Crow
14
Junonia atlites
Grey Pansy
2
Junonia iphita
Chocolate Soldier
10
Lethe drypetis
Tamil Tree Brown
2
Mycalesis patnia
Glad Eye Bush Brown
43
Mycalesis perseus
Common Bush Brown
32
Neptis hylas
Common Sailor
14
Orsotriaena medus
Medus Brown
5
Parantica aglea
Glassy Tiger
20
Ypthima ceylonica
White Four Ring
52
Papilionidae
Papilio polymnestor
Blue Mormon
3
Papilio polytes
Common Mormon
9
Pieridae
Catopsilia pomona
Lemon emigrant
2
Cepora nerissa
Common Gull
3
Eurema blanda
Three Spot Grass Yellow
12
Leptosia nina
Psyche
9
Disturbed forest
Hesperiidae
Iambrix minuta
Chestnut Bob
28
Suastus gremius
Indian Palm Bob
11
Lycaenidae
Jamides bochus
Dark Cerulean
1
Jamides celeno
Common Cerulean
14
Lampides boeticus
Pea Blue
7
Loxura atymnus
Yam Fly
5
Talicada nyseus
Red Pierrot
1
Nymphalidae
Danaus chrysippus
Plain Tiger
2
Elymnias singala
Common Palm Fly
7
Euploea core
Common Crow
15
Junonia atlites
Grey Pansy
5
Lethe drypetis
Tamil Tree Brown
7
Mycalesis patnia
Glad Eye Bush Brown
45
Mycalesis perseus
Common Bush Brown
32
Neptis hylas
Common Sailor
11
Orsotriaena medus
Medus Brown
6
Parantica aglea
Glassy Tiger
19
Ypthima ceylonica
White Four Ring
46
Papilionidae
Graphium agamemnon
Tailed Jay
10
Graphium sarpedon
Blue Bottle
5
Papilio polymnestor
Blue Mormon
7
Papilio polytes
Common Mormon
3
Pieridae
Appias albina
Common Albatross
12
Catopsilia pomona
Lemon emigrant
9
Cepora nerissa
Common Gull
1
Delias eucharis
Jezebel
3
Eurema blanda
Three Spot Grass Yellow
17
Prioneris sita
Painted Sawtooth
4

Rathnayake et. al. Species composition
Vingnanam Journal of Science, Vol. 18 (2), December 2023 6
richness in the DF could most probably be
attributed to the presence of the several fruit crop
species. It has been reported that butterfly
species of Papilionidae, Nymphalidae, Pieridae
and Hesperiidae prefer to visit Lantana camara
(Silva et al., 2021) because they have high nectar
volume and sugar content in flowers. Moreover,
previous research indicated that Papilionidae
butterflies were frequently observed on red
flowers of Ixora coccinea (Gandhi and Kumar,
2015). Further, Gandhi and Kumar (2015)
reported that Murraya koenigii, is a host plant
for Papilio polytes. All these plant species were
found in the SL where we studied, which could
contribute to higher abundance of butterflies.
Similar to previously reported work, we detected
Nymphalidae was the most diverse and
dominant family in all the habitat types (Slater
et al., 2019; Peiris et al., 2020; Weerakoon and
Ranawana, 2021). We found some common
species for all the habitats as well as specific
species which were restricted to one/two types
of habitats.
In general, it was observed that the overall
butterfly abundance was slightly dropped with
the rainfall and temperature (Figure 06). In
addition, the abundance was shown to be lower
during November and December which would
most probably be associated with the reduced
temperature (Silva et al., 2021) compared to
September and October 2021. The findings
elucidated the butterfly assemblage in
previously unexplored region in Nuwara Eliya
district and the information gathered in this
study is of vital importance towards the
conservation of biodiversity.
4. CONCLUSION
The present study shows that the home garden
habitats explored in this study were rich with
butterflies. However, the butterfly abundance
and diversity vary with the sub-habitats
investigated. The Family Nymphalidae was
recorded as the most common species in all three
sub-habitats. The highest number of species and
overall abundance were recorded with the
Family Nymphalidae.
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