ABSTRACT

Butterflies and moths are among the most common insect groups in tropical environments, but not much is known about their diversity and ecology in forest habitats such as in Nigeria. This study was, therefore, done to produce a checklist and assess the distribution of lepidopteran fauna as well as study some aspects of the ecology of some metamorphosing species in some parts of southeastern Nigeria. Adult butterflies and moths were collected from different habitats in 15 locations within the study area using both invasive and noninvasive methods. Individuals encountered were photographed, identified, documented and some collected individuals preserved. Seven sites from key habitats within the area were selected and surveyed. Lepidopteran surveys were conducted in the selected sites during the wet and dry seasons. Surveys involved recording lepidopteran fauna in each site along 10 transects of 100 m each. Samples of larvae were collected from breeding species encountered during the study and reared in enclosures, to monitor their metamorphoses. Monitoring of some species was conducted in their natural habitats. A total of 126 adult butterfly species belonging to five families and 15 adult moth species belonging to seven families were recorded in various habitats in the study area. A comparison of the species richness among the selected sites showed that Site 1 (Eme River Forest Reserve) had the highest species richness, with a record of 32 lepidopteran species. This was followed by Site 4 (FRIN Forest Outstation, Okwuta) with 28 species and Site 7 (MOUAU Relict Forest) with 25 species. Site 3 (Umuahia-Ibeku Forest Reserve), Site 5 (Home Gardens, Omoba), Site 2 (Mixed crop Farmland, Oguzoronweya) and Site 6 (Forest-Savannah Ecotone, Ishiagu) had 24, 20, 20 and 14 species respectively. Shannon and Simpson's diversity indices showed that Site 1 had the highest species diversity followed by Site 4 and Site 7, while species diversity was lowest in Site 6. A high level of species evenness (82%) and gamma diversity (98%) was recorded in the distribution of lepidopteran species across the surveyed sites. Jaccard Dissimilarity Index also revealed that the rate of dissimilarity in the lepidopteran species composition between pairs of sites was above 70%. Species richness and abundance appeared to be higher in the dry season compared to the wet season, though the differences were not statistically significant (P<0.05). Furthermore, seven moth species were successfully reared in enclosures from larvae to adult stages; one moth species was observed in its natural habitat from egg to adult stage, while one adult butterfly species was encountered during emergence from its pupal cocoon. Fourteen larval specimens of different species were unsuccessfully reared. The findings of this study suggest that at least 10% of the existing records of butterflies in Nigeria may be found within the southeast. The lepidopteran