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Foraging Behaviour of Some Papilionid Butterflies in Bhawal and Madhupur Sal Forests of Bangladesh

Chowdhury, M. A. K.
Department of Zoology, Life and Earth Science Group, National University, Gazipur-1704, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

The foraging behaviour of nine papilionid butterflies has been studied from two moist deciduous sal forests viz. Bhawal and Madhupur are from central part of Bangladesh. Papilionid butterflies were found to visit 156 flowering plant species belonging to 39 plant families. Dependency of papilionid butterflies on flowering plants varied from family to family with high dependency on family Asteraceae (15%) followed by Rubiaceae (8%), Rutaceae (6%), Verbenaceae (6%), Apocynaceae (6%), and Fabaceae (6%). Although most of the plant species (72 species, 47.68%) were visited by single butterfly species some were also visited by multiple species of butterflies (e.g., Chromolaena odorata by 9 species, followed by Mikania cordata and Lantana camara by 8 and 7 species, respectively). Ninety-eight percent (153 out of 156 species) of the nectar resources were dicotyledonous in origin but two percent of plant species (three out of 156 species under three families) were monocotyledonous. Six floral attributes such as plants' life forms, nature, perennation, origin, corolla shape, and flower massing contributed butterflies significantly to visit plants for nectaring.

Keywords: Papilionid butterfly; Foraging behaviour; Sal forests; Plant family; Floral attributes

Location: Bhawal Sal Forest is situated in Gazipur District, Dhaka-Mymensingh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Morphological/Physiological

Commodity: Butterfly

Objectives:

In the present study, the correlation between papilionid butterflies and their nectar plant diversity has been investigated and tried to identify the floral resources within the Bhawal and Madhupur Sal Forests especially at the level of species and respective foraging behavior of butterflies to utilize these resources.

Methodology:

The findings presented here are based on a field survey and investigation carried out on a weekly survey basis in all months of the year as part of an ongoing grand experimentation program for the conservation of the diversity of butterflies and wildlife as a whole in natural habitats of Bangladesh. The present study has been done at 10 selected study sites (five from each) of two deciduous moist sal forests of Bhawal and Madhupur twice a month at each station. Bhawal Sal Forest is situated in Gazipur District, 40 Km North of Dhaka City on both sides of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and its GPS location is 24°01'N, 90°20'E. Madhupur Sal Forest is situated in the Madhupur Upazilla of Tangail District, 120 Km North of Dhaka City. It is located between 23⁰50'-24⁰50' N latitude and 89⁰54'-90⁰50' E longitude. The present study was conducted in the core areas of both forests. Sweep net method and visual observations were made to document papilionid butterflies visiting preferred flowers. The Pollard walk method along a fixed transect of about 500m length with 5m on either side covered in an hour walking at a constant pace in each study site was utilized to document the butterflies and their activities on each sampling occasion. All butterflies were recorded with time and number of individuals seen between 7.30 and 18.00 hrs and sometimes up to 19.00 hrs according to Bangladesh Standard Time (BST) format when butterflies were actively foraging on flowers. Butterflies were tracked while they foraged, maintaining a distance of at least 2m to avoid disturbance. Flowers that fell 5m on either side of transacts were considered to have been encountered by butterflies irrespective of their height and were recorded. Visits were scored only if it had been seen the butterflies probe the flower. Different behavioral activities regarding the feeding of butterflies were studied using the focal-animal sampling method. In the present study, the focal animal was butterflies of family Papilionidae in which all occurrences of specified (inter) actions of an individual, or specified group of individuals, were recorded during each sampling period. Each individual was tracked and observed for 5 minutes for recording various feeding behaviors like foraging and nectarine.

Source of Information: J. biodivers. conserv. bioresour. manag. 6(2), 2020

Article Link (Online Journal): DOI: https://doi.org/10.3329/jbcbm.v6i2.55247

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The foraging behavior of nine papilionid butterflies has been studied from two moist deciduous sal forests viz. Bhawal and Madhupur are from the central part of Bangladesh. Papilionid butterflies were found to visit 156 flowering plant species belonging to 39 plant families. Dependency of papilionid butterflies on flowering plants varied from family to family with high dependency on family Asteraceae (15%) followed by Rubiaceae (8%), Rutaceae (6%), Verbenaceae (6%), Apocynaceae (6%), and Fabaceae (6%). Although most of the plant species (72 species, 47.68%) were visited by single butterfly species some were also visited by multiple species of butterflies (e.g., Chromolaena odorata by 9 species, followed by Mikania cordata and Lantana camara by 8 and 7 species, respectively). Ninety-eight percent (153 out of 156 species) of the nectar resources were dicotyledonous in origin but two percent of plant species (three out of 156 species under three families) were monocotyledonous. Six floral attributes such as plants' life forms, nature, perennation, origin, corolla shape, and flower massing contributed to butterflies significantly to visit plants for nectaring.

Knowledge Management: Journal