Butterfly communities of ritchie’s archipelago in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India: Implications for conservation of arthropods and their habitats

Abstract

The extensive distribution of butterflies in the Andaman and Nicobar islands is an important factor in the ecology of this island ecosystem. Butterflies are recognized as bioindicators and Lepidoptera are known to be susceptible to environmental changes. This work has been carried out on the islands of Ritchie’s Archipelago. The Ritchie’s Archipelago, a cluster of smaller islands, is situated 25-30 km east of Greater Andaman. This archipelago comprises mainly four larger islands, few smaller islands and several islets, which extends roughly as north-south chain parallel to the main great Andaman island group. The butterfly communities of Ritchie’s Archipelago were investigated during 2008 and 2011, the line transect method by employing to assess the population of butterflies. A total of 84 species belonging to five families and 58 genera were recorded during the period of the study. Highest species was recorded in Nymphalidae family followed by families of Lycaenidae, Pieridae and Papilionidae. The Havelock and Neil islands recorded the highest shared species numbers (50 spp.). The diversity index (H’) ranged from 2.76 to 3.96, with the highest index of diversity observed in Havelock Island (3.96). The Ritchie’s Archipelago with high representation of butterflies indicated its importance for in situ conservation.