Diurnal butterflies three dry tropical forest fragments of Magdalena valleyhigh. Tolima-Colombia
The biological diversity of Colombia is threatened by anthropogenic activities such as agriculture and livestock farming that have transformed natural habitats, leading to an advanced deterioration of forests, a situation that may affect the availability of resources and ecosystem services in these habitats.
The Tropical Dry Forest (TDF), is one of the most threatened and degraded ecosystems in the Colombian Andes because of transformation, fragmentation and loss of diversity. Among the vast diversity of insects that inhabit the planet, Lepidopterans are very important due to their potential as bio-indicators of habitat quality. From February to November (2015) the composition and diversity of butterflies was evaluated in in three fragments of TDF in the Tolima department. The sampling was performed using entomological net and Van Someren Rydon traps. A total of 1589 specimens belonging to 160 species, 127 genera, 18 subfamilies and 6 families were collected. The representativeness of the study was of 85%. Nymphalidae was the most abundant and diverse family (1182 individuals and 64 species) and Pyrginae was the most diverse subfamily with 21 species. The species Hamadryas februaferentina (691 ind) and Eunica monima (71 ind) exhibited the highest abundance, being the first one, the most dominant specie. Regarding species richness, the sampling site with the highest number of species was Armero with 140 species. Which could be related with the precipitation, relative humidity and vegetation phenology in the area. This study contributes significantly to the knowledge of the butterflies of TDF fragments in the valleys of the Tolima department.
Keywords: Tropical Dry Forest, Butterflies, Diversity, Upper Magdalena Valley, Tolima.
https://revistaaccb.org/r/index.php/accb/article/view/125
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