Butterfly-plant network in urban landscape: Implication for conservation and urban greening

Butterflies (Insecta: Lepidoptera) contribute to the ecosystem services and thereby qualify as a group deserving conservation effort. Information on the butterfly-plant links is used as a foundation to sustain population and enhance conservation and management. Thus, in the present study, the structure of a butterfly-plant network in an urban landscape like Kolkata, India, was deciphered highlighting metrics like degree distribution, nestedness, and interaction strength and specialization index. A total of forty eight butterfly species associated with thirty different angiosperm plant species were observed during the study period of one year. While Lantana camara was observed to be the dominant plant species with 37 links to different butterflies, the Catopsilia pyranthe butterfly species was dominant in terms of the generalist pattern of links (21 links) with the plants. Differential ability of the shrubs and herbs in the sustenance of the butterflies was reflected in the network indices using the herbs and the shrubs, separately. In urban landscapes with restricted variety of flowering plants, an estimate of relative strength of interactions enables identification and further use of the concerned species in sustaining butterfly populations. In accordance with these propositions, the butterfly-plant network illustrated in the present instance may prove useful in selection of plant species required for the enhancement of population of desired butterfly species in urban areas like Kolkata, India.