Migration in butterflies: a global overview

Insect populations including butterflies are declining worldwide, and they are becoming an urgent conservation priority in many regions. Understanding which butterfly species migrate is critical to planning for their conservation, because management actions for migrants need to be coordinated across time and space. Yet, while migration appears to be widespread among butterflies, its prevalence, as well as its taxonomic and geographic distribution are poorly understood. The study of insect migration is hampered by their small size and the difficulty of tracking individuals over long distances. Here we review the literature on migration in butterflies, one of the best-known insect groups. We find that nearly 600 butterfly species show evidence of migratory movements. Indeed, the rate of ‘discovery’ of migratory movements in butterflies suggests that many more species might in fact be migratory. Butterfly migration occurs across all families, in tropical as well as temperate taxa; Nymphalidae has more migratory species than any other family (275 species), and Pieridae has the highest proportion of migrants (13%; 133 species). Some 13 lines of evidence have been used to ascribe migration status in the literature, but only a single line of evidence is available for 92% of the migratory species identified, with four or more lines of evidence available for only 10 species – all from the Pieridae and Nymphalidae. Migratory butterflies occur worldwide, although the geographic distribution of migration in butterflies is poorly resolved, with most data so far coming from Europe, USA, and Australia. Migration is much more widespread in butterflies than previously realised – extending far beyond the well-known examples of the monarch Danaus plexippus and the painted lady Vanessa cardui – and actions to conserve butterflies and insects in general must account for the spatial dependencies introduced by migratory movements.     

Conservation of Aquatic Insects: Worldwide Crisis or Localized Threats?

An overview is presented on the current worldwide status ofaquatic insect conservation. Despite extensive habitat destructionor modification, aquatic insects as a whole do not appear tohave suffered as great a proportional loss of species over thelast century as members of other groups. In North America, forexample, only 204 species are considered at risk out of a totalfauna of over 10,000 species, and no species has been documentedas having gone extinct. Even so, aquatic insect diversity issubject to a broad spectrum of threats, including chemical pollutionof waters from industry and agriculture, physical destructionof habitat from impoundments or drainage, and introduction ofalien aquatic biota, primarily sport or aquarium fishes. Adequatelegislation exists in the United States and Europe to provideprotection to aquatic insect taxa at risk, but the implementationof this legislation is often hampered by a lack of taxonomicand distributional knowledge, and by a concentration of recoveryefforts on more highly visible vertebrate taxa. The case ofthe Ash Meadows Naucorid, the only aquatic species currentlyprotected under the Endangered Species Act, is examined in detail.It is concluded that the listing of this species has had nodiscernable effect in halting its population decline, partlydue to the fact that recovery efforts for endangered fisheshave proven deleterious to the insect. It is recommended thatfuture listing efforts be conducted in the context of nationalbiological surveys, and that an ecosystem rather than singlespecies approach be applied to aquatic conservation efforts.     

Recent trends in stream macroinvertebrates: warm-adapted and pesticide-tolerant taxa increase in richness

Recently, a plethora of studies reporting insect declines has been published. Even though the common theme is decreasing insect richness, positive trends have also been documented. Here, we analysed nationwide, systematic monitoring data on aquatic insect richness collected at 438 sites in Switzerland from 2010 to 2019. In addition to taxonomic richness, we grouped taxa in accordance with their ecological preferences and functional traits to gain a better understanding of trends and possible underlying mechanisms. We found that in general, richness of aquatic insects remained stable or increased with time. Warm-adapted taxa, common feeding guilds and pesticide-tolerant taxa showed increasing patterns while cold-adapted, rarer feeding guilds and pesticide-sensitive taxa displayed stable trends. Both climate and land-use-related factors were the most important explanatory variables for the patterns of aquatic insect richness. Although our data cover the last decade only, our results suggest that recent developments in insect richness are context-dependent and affect functional groups differently. However, longer investigations and a good understanding of the baseline are important to reveal if the increase in temperature- and pesticide-tolerant species will lead to a decrease in specialized species and a homogenization of biotic communities in the long term.     

Evaluating the Effects of Introduced Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) on Native Stream Insects on Kauai Island, Hawaii; Contribution No. 2001-012 to the Hawaii Biological Survey, Bishop Museum

Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and other salmonids have been widely stocked into upland streams throughout the world to provide a basis for sport fisheries, but the effects of such introductions on indigenous and endemic aquatic insect assemblages are poorly documented. In this study, we examine the impact of rainbow trout on the indigenous and endemic entomofauna of upland streams in Kokee State Park, Kauai, Hawaii, with particular emphasis on the potential threat trout pose to populations of endemic damselflies in the genus Megalagrion. Rainbow trout were introduced into the upland streams of Kauai beginning in the 1920s, with over 60 years of subsequent restocking. This study indicates, however, that streams in this area still maintain diverse populations of Megalagrion damselflies and other indigenous and endemic aquatic insects, both in catchments containing naturally reproducing trout populations and in catchments lacking rainbow trout. Our results indicate that the indigenous and endemic aquatic insect communities in the streams under study compare favorably in terms of density and taxonomic richness with other isolated and unimpacted streams elsewhere in Hawaii, and retain high densities and relative percentages of indigenous and endemic aquatic insect taxa. Our results demonstrate that the threats posed by conspicuous introduced species such as trout should not simply be assumed a priori on the basis of postulated negative interactions, because this may divert limited resources from programs aimed at control of other, potentially more destructive introduced taxa such as inconspicuous poeciliid fishes.     

The evolution of diet breadth: Monophagy and polyphagy in swallowtail butterflies

Much of the world's biodiversity has resulted from specialization of insect populations onto different plant species, partially through evolution of preference in ovipositing females. Here I report an experimental analysis of how an oviposition preference hierarchy has evolved during the evolutionary diversification of an insect group to produce taxa ranging from monophagous to polyphagous. Tests on the Papilio machaon group of swallowtail butterflies show that the preference hierarchy for plant species is evolutionarily dynamic within this species complex, yet constrained among most populations within species, creating a geographic mosaic of populations differing to various degrees in patterns of host preference. The results indicate that different diet breadths can evolve within a group of closely-related species through a combination of conservatism in preference hierarchy among some populations, occasional but rare rearrangements in preference among others, correlations in preference for some plant species, and availability of similarly ranked hosts.     

Grasshopper and butterfly local congruency in grassland remnants

Grasshoppers could be considered as appropriate ecological indicators for grasslands owing to their sensitive response to environmental features. However, if grasshoppers are a good ecological indicator, they must (i) also represent other taxa, and (ii) provide additional information over straight measurement of environmental variables. To assess this, we compared the congruence of species richness patterns of grasshoppers with butterflies and environmental variables in two areas with extensive ecological networks (ENs). ENs are landscape-scale remnants of corridors and nodes of natural habitat running throughout a transformed, usually agricultural, landscape. Species richness of grasshoppers and butterflies did not differ among reference and EN sites, but guild composition differed significantly. While ENs adequately conserved overall diversity of these two groups, they were utilized preferentially by small-sized grasshoppers and shrub and tree-feeding butterflies. Reference sites had significantly more graminivorous and intermediate-mobility grasshopper species, as well as more butterfly species with widespread distribution, herbaceous dicot feeders and those with no recorded association to forest edges. Nevertheless, grasshopper and butterfly species richness’ were highly correlated. These results were similar across geographic areas, despite the fact that the areas differed significantly in their overall richness and species composition. Although there were some specific significant correlations between environmental variables and diversity, none of the variables could adequately replace use of the insect assemblage for bioindication. We conclude that grasshopper species and guild richness are representative of the butterfly assemblage, and provide information which is not sufficiently clear when utilizing only environmental variables.     

Phylogeographic patterns of steppe species in Eastern Central Europe: a review and the implications for conservation

The phylogeography of species associated with European steppes and extrazonal xeric grasslands is poorly understood. This paper summarizes the results of recent studies on the phylogeography and conservation genetics of animals (20 taxa of beetles, butterflies, reptiles and rodents) and flowering plants (18 taxa) of such, "steppic" habitats in Eastern Central Europe. Most species show a similar phylogeographic pattern: relatively high genetic similarity within regional groups of populations and moderate-to-high genetic distinctiveness of populations from currently isolated regions located in the studied area. This distinctiveness of populations suggests a survival here during glacial maxima, including areas north of the Bohemian Massif-Carpathians arc. Steppic species generally do not follow the paradigmatic patterns known for temperate biota (south-north “contraction–expansion”), but to some extent are similar to those of arctic-alpine taxa. There are three main groups of taxa within Eastern Central Europe that differ in their contemporary distribution pattern, which may reflect historical origin and expansion routes. Present diversity patterns of the studied steppic species suggest that they share a unique genetic signature and distinct assemblages exist in each of the now isolated areas rich in steppic habitats. At least some of these areas probably act as present “interglacial refugia” for steppic species. This study strongly supports the need to protect steppic species throughout their entire ranges in the region, as the continuous destruction of steppic habitats in some areas may lead not only to the disappearance of local populations, but also to the extinction of unique evolutionary units.     

Biotope Use and Trends of European Butterflies

Europe has undergone substantial biotope loss and change over the last century and data are needed urgently on the rate of decline in different wildlife groups in order to identify and target conservation measures. However, pan-European data are available for very few taxonomic groups, notably birds. We present here the first overview of trends for an insect group within different biotopes across Europe, based on data from the Red Data Book of European Butterflies. The most important biotopes for Europe’s 576 butterfly species, including threatened species, are man-made or man-influenced, notably types of grassland or heath/scrub communities. Our results show that butterflies are declining substantially across Europe, with a decline in distribution of −11% over the last 25 years. The distributions of the 25 most “generalist” species are declining only slowly (−1%) compared to specialist butterflies of grassland (−19%), wetlands (−15%), and forests (−14%). On average, grassland butterflies have declined somewhat slower than farmland birds (annual decrease −0.8% compared to −1.5%), but woodland butterflies have decreased more rapidly (−0.01% to −0.6%) than woodland birds, which are more or less stable. The sensitivity of butterflies to environmental changes and the availability of data across Europe suggest that they are very good candidates to build biodiversity indicators and, along with other major groups such as birds, suitable to monitor progress towards the EU target of halting biodiversity loss by 2010. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Functional Invertebrate Prey Groups Reflect Dietary Responses to Phenology and Farming Activity and Pest Control Services in Three Sympatric Species of Aerially Foraging Insectivorous Birds

Farming activity severely impacts the invertebrate food resources of farmland birds, with direct mortality to populations of above-ground arthropods thorough mechanical damage during crop harvests. In this study we assessed the effects of phenological periods, including the timing of harvest, on the composition and biomass of prey consumed by three species of aerial insectivorous birds. Common Swifts Apus apus, Barn Swallows Hirundo rustica and House Martins Delichon urbica breed sympatrically and most of their diet is obtained from agricultural sources of invertebrate prey, especially from oil-seed rape crops. We categorized invertebrate prey into six functional groups, including oil-seed rape pests; pests of other arable crops; other crop-provisioned taxa; coprophilous taxa; and taxa living in non-crop and mixed crop/non-crop habitats. Seasonality impacted functional groups differently, but the general direction of change (increase/decrease) of all groups was consistent as indexed by prey composition of the three aerial insectivores studied here. After the oil-seed rape crop harvest (mid July), all three species exhibited a dietary shift from oil-seed rape insect pests to other aerial invertebrate prey groups. However, Common Switfts also consumed a relative large quantity of oil-seed rape insect pests in the late summer (August), suggesting that they could reduce pest insect emigration beyond the host plant/crop. Since these aerially foraging insectivorous birds operate in specific conditions and feed on specific pest resources unavailable to foliage/ground foraging avian predators, our results suggest that in some crops like oil-seed rape cultivations, the potential integration of the insectivory of aerial foraging birds into pest management schemes might provide economic benefits. We advise further research into the origin of airborne insects and the role of aerial insectivores as agents of the biological control of crop insect pests, especially the determination of depredation rates and the cascading effects of insectivory on crop damage and yield.     

Comparative biodiversity of crustaceans and aquatic insects from various water body types in coastal Mediterranean wetlands

Coastal wetlands are characterized by a high biodiversity. At the same time, biodiversity is one of the main criteria used to establish protection policy priorities, or to propose management actions. In this study, crustacean and aquatic insect species richness in the Empordà wetlands was investigated. These two groups contribute in an important way to the total biodiversity, and still they are seldom taken into account in the management of natural areas. Representative samples (38 points) of all aquatic water body types in the Empordà wetlands were taken monthly (dip net with 250 μm mesh). Sampling was carried out between 1996 and 2000, but until present, only qualitative data have been extracted. A rich fauna of 125 crustacean taxa and 295 aquatic insect taxa were found. Some environments were characterized by low richness and high singularity (isolated artesian freshwater springs), some by high richness and high singularity (estuarine waters, brackish and meso-eutrophic freshwater wetlands), and others by low richness and low singularity (hypertrophic freshwater wetlands and hyperhaline wetlands). Factors determining singularity and richness are discussed. Comparison with crustacean richness of other western Mediterranean wetlands showed a similar high species richness in our study sites, probably due to high spatial heterogeneity of these areas.     

Salinity as a driver of aquatic invertebrate colonisation behaviour and distribution in the wheatbelt of Western Australia

To understand how environmental change will modify community assembly and the distribution of organisms it is valuable to understand mechanisms that drive the occurrence of organisms across the landscape. Salinisation of agricultural land in southwest Western Australia, as a result of land clearing, is a widespread environmental change, which threatens numerous taxa, but provides an opportunity to elucidate such mechanisms. Although salinisation affects terrestrial fauna and flora, the greatest impacts are seen in wetlands and waterways. Many aquatic insect taxa colonise ephemeral water bodies directly as adults or by oviposition. Few empirical studies, however, evaluate the influence of abiotic factors, such as water body salinity, on the colonisation behaviour of aquatic fauna. We conducted a manipulative experiment using mesocosms to test whether colonising insect fauna select aquatic habitats based upon salinity. We found that halosensitive fauna selected less saline mesocosms for oviposition and colonisation, demonstrating that behaviour can influence the distribution of aquatic organisms. Additionally, we utilised field surveys of insects from ephemeral water bodies across a broad region of southwest Western Australia to determine if mesocosm results reflected field observation. The abundance of the same insect taxa and taxonomic groups in the field were highly variable and, with the exceptions of Culex australicus Dobrotworksy and Drummond and Anopheles annulipes Giles (Diptera: Culicidae), did not show similar patterns of distribution to those observed in the mesocosm experiment. Both mesocosm and field assemblages exhibited similar and significant trajectories associated with the salinity gradient, even though there were differences in assemblage structure between the two. Our findings give empirical support to the importance of behaviour in the spatial distribution and assembly of some aquatic insects. Handling editor: K. Martens     

Drivers of symbiont diversity in freshwater snails: a comparative analysis of resource availability,community heterogeneity,and colonization opportunities

Decades of community ecology research have highlighted the importance of resource availability, habitat heterogeneity, and colonization opportunities in driving biodiversity. Less clear, however, is whether a similar suite of factors explains the diversity of symbionts. Here, we used a hierarchical dataset involving 12,712 freshwater snail hosts representing five species to test the relative importance of potential factors in driving symbiont richness. Specifically, we used model selection to assess the explanatory power of variables related to host species identity, resource availability (average body size, host density), ecological heterogeneity (richness of hosts and other taxa), and colonization opportunities (wetland size and amount of neighboring wetland area) on symbiont richness in 146 snail host populations in California, USA. We encountered a total of 23 taxa of symbionts, including both obligatory parasites such as digenetic trematodes as well as more commensal, mutualistic, or opportunistic groups such as aquatic insect larvae, annelids, and leeches. After validating richness estimates per host population using species accumulative curves, we detected positive effects on symbiont richness from host body size, total richness of the aquatic community, and colonization opportunities. Neither snail density nor the richness of snail species accounted for significant variation in symbiont diversity. Host species identity also affected symbiont richness, with higher gamma and average alpha diversity among more common host species with higher local abundances. These findings highlight the importance of multiple, concurrent factors in driving symbiont richness that extend beyond epidemiological measures of host abundance or host diversity alone.     

Indian migrant butterflies displaced to Arabia by monsoon storm 'Aurora' in August 1983

Although many insect species are now thought to travel hundreds and even thousands of kilometres on the wind (Pedgley, 1982) only a few are butterflies. Three species for which there is reasonably convincing but circumstantial evidence are Danaus plexippus L. from the U.S.A. to the British Isles (Hurst, 1969), Hypolimnas bolina nerina (F.) from Australia to New Zealand (Tomlinson, 1973) and Nymphalis antiopa L. from northern Europe to the British Isles (Chalmers-Hunt, 1977). In this paper we describe the sudden appearance of Indian butterflies in Arabia and provide evidence that they were windborne across the Arabian Sea.     

Karyotypic diversity and speciation in Agrodiaetus butterflies

That chromosomal rearrangements may play an important role in maintaining postzygotic isolation between well-established species is part of the standard theory of speciation. However, little evidence exists on the role of karyotypic change in speciation itself--in the establishment of reproductive barriers between previously interbreeding populations. The large genus Agrodiaetus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) provides a model system to study this question. Agrodiaetus butterflies exhibit unusual interspecific diversity in chromosome number, from n= 10 to n= 134; in contrast, the majority of lycaenid butterflies have n= 23/24. We analyzed the evolution of karyotypic diversity by mapping chromosome numbers on a thoroughly sampled mitochondrial phylogeny of the genus. Karyotypic differences accumulate gradually between allopatric sister taxa, but more rapidly between sympatric sister taxa. Overall, sympatric sister taxa have a higher average karyotypic diversity than allopatric sister taxa. Differential fusion of diverged populations may account for this pattern because the degree of karyotypic difference acquired between allopatric populations may determine whether they will persist as nascent biological species in secondary sympatry. This study therefore finds evidence of a direct role for chromosomal rearrangements in the final stages of animal speciation. Rapid karyotypic diversification is likely to have contributed to the explosive speciation rate observed in Agrodiaetus, 1.6 species per million years.     

Landscape matrix modifies richness of plants and insects in grassland fragments

There is an increasing awareness that not only area and isolation, but also the characteristics of the landscape surrounding habitat patches influence population persistence and species diversity in fragmented landscapes. In this study, we examine the effects of grassland fragmentation and land use in the landscape matrix (on a 2 km scale) on species richness of plants, butterflies, bees and hoverflies. These organisms were studied in replicated remnant patches of different sizes and isolation, embedded in landscapes dominated either by forest, arable land or a mix of these. We found positive effects of patch area on species richness of the three insect taxa, but not of plants. Isolation had a negative effect only on hoverflies. Matrix type had contrasting effects on the studied taxa. Species richness of plants and butterflies was lowest in patches in landscapes dominated by arable land and highest in forest‐dominated landscapes. For hoverflies, the negative effect of small patch area was strongest in forest‐dominated landscapes, and there was a similar non‐significant trend for bees. Our study shows the importance of considering matrix characteristics when studying responses to habitat fragmentation. Differences in matrix response among organism groups probably impinge on differing mechanisms. A forest matrix is likely to provide additional resources for butterflies but either constitute a barrier to dispersal or deprive resources as compared to an arable matrix for hoverflies. Enhanced plant diversity in grassland patches embedded in forested landscapes can be explained by habitat generalists more easily invading these patches, or by an unpaid extinction debt in these landscapes.     

Vertical stratification of ithomiine butterfly (Nymphalidae: Ithomiinae) mimicry complexes: the relationship between adult flight height and larval host-plant height

Data are presented which confirm previous findings that sympatric mimicry complexes dominated by unpalatable Neotropical ithomiine butterflies (Nymphalidae: Ithomiinae) are vertically stratified by height of flight. Flight height of ithomiine species is positively correlated with the height of their larval host-plants. Thus members of a mimicry complex utilize host-plants of similar heights. Non-mimetic British woodland butterflies also show a positive relationship between flight height and host-plant height, which suggests that the relationship is independent of mimicry. I propose that female butterflies fly at heights which maximize the probability of encountering their larval host-plants, and that males fly at similar heights to females in order to maximize the probability of encountering potential mates. Female butterflies probably encounter plants of similar heights to their larval hosts more frequently than they encounter plants of other heights. I suggest that butterfly species may therefore be more likely to make host shifts to plant species of a similar height to their current host-plants. Finally, I discuss how the relationship between flight height and height of larval host-plants, coupled with microhabitat-dependent selection on colour pattern, could lead to the evolution in sympatry of vertically stratified mimicry complexes.     

Insect taxa with similar habitat requirements may differ in response to the environment in heterogeneous patches of traditional fruit orchards

Semi-natural habitats are currently one of the most important environments for many taxa. The main aim of this study was to discover how diurnal butterflies (Lepidoptera) and flower-visiting beetles (Coleoptera) respond to the environment of traditional fruit orchards. In total, 25 orchards were studied in the rural-agricultural landscape in the Czech Republic. Both study taxa were sampled using timed survey walks in 2010. Seven variables in two environmental categories (patch and geography) were evaluated with respect to the species richness of the studied taxa using partial regression, hierarchical partitioning and generalized linear modeling of the best selected variables. Butterflies were highly influenced at a patch level. An increased number of flowering plants, as a reflection of nectar sources for adults, significantly explained a high level of variability, both alone and via interaction with other studied variables. Beetles were influenced by patch and geography to the same degree, although altitude (as a reflection of geographical heterogeneity) significantly negatively explained the highest level of variability. The results indicate that diurnal butterflies and flower-visiting beetles as insect taxa with similar habitat requirements respond differently in heterogeneous environments of traditional fruit orchards. They also indicate the need for multi-taxa studies, even in marginal ecosystems of recent landscapes.     

A meta-analysis of spatial relationships in species richness across taxa: Birds as indicators of wider biodiversity in temperate regions

AimIndicators are an important tool by which conservationists monitor biodiversity because resources and expertise needed to survey biodiversity in a more direct way are often lacking. We aim to examine the effectiveness of species richness in birds as an indicator of species richness in other taxa. Birds are perhaps the most widely monitored species group so it is important to understand whether they can act as surrogates for distribution and abundance of other taxa.MethodsWe use a meta-analytical approach to assess the effectiveness of birds as indicators of cross-taxonomic species richness on spatial data from terrestrial temperate studies.ResultsThe literature showed mixed results but, in general, species richness in birds only weakly reflected species richness in other taxa. On average 19% of the variation in total species richness in other taxa was explained by species richness in birds. This is marginally higher than results found in a previous meta-analysis of species richness correlations between all taxa. Birds were more effective at reflecting cross-taxa species richness in study areas that were dominated by agricultural mosaics or mixtures of habitat types; they were less effective in forests and grassland environments. Overall, birds were better at reflecting species richness in mammals than other taxa, and relationships were more effective at larger spatial scales.Main conclusionsSpecies richness in birds only weakly reflected that of other taxa. Birds might be most useful as indicators of spatial variation in wider biodiversity in relatively patchy environments and for taxa that have similar spatial requirements. Species richness is one of many potential metrics for measuring biodiversity. There is a need to assess whether temporal change in bird populations and assemblages, as opposed to spatial variation, reflects change in other taxa and to identify elements of biodiversity for which birds could be the most effective surrogates.     

On the ubiquity and phylogeny of Wolbachia in lice

Wolbachia are intracellular bacteria that occur in an estimated 20% of arthropod species. They are of broad interest because they profoundly affect the reproductive fitness of diverse host taxa. Here we document the apparent ubiquity and diversity of Wolbachia in the insect orders Anoplura (sucking lice) and Mallophaga (chewing lice), by detecting single or multiple infections in each of 25 tested populations of lice, representing 19 species from 15 genera spanning eight taxonomic families. Phylogenetic analyses indicate a high diversity of Wolbachia in lice, as evidenced by the identification of 39 unique strains. Some of these strains are apparently unique to lice, whereas others are similar to strains that infect other insect taxa. Wolbachia are transmitted from infected females to their offspring via egg cytoplasm, such that similar species of lice are predicted to have similar strains of Wolbachia. This predicted pattern is not supported in the current study and may reflect multiple events of recent horizontal transmission between host species. At present, there is no known mechanism that would allow for this latter mode of transmission to and within species of lice.     

Contrasting the distribution of butterflies and termites in plantations and tropical forests

In the tropics vast areas of natural forests are being converted into plantations. The magnitude of the resulting loss in arthropod biodiversity and associated ecosystem services represents a significant topic of research. In this study we contrasted the abundance, species richness and faunal turnover of butterflies, resident butterflies (i.e., whose host plants were ascertained to occur in the habitats studied) and termites between small (average 4.3 ha) 20+ year old exotic plantations (teak and Terminalia), native plantations (Cedro espino), and an old growth forest in Panama. We used Pollard walks and manual search to quantify the abundance or occurrence of butterflies and termites, respectively. In 2014 we observed 4610 butterflies representing 266 species and 108 termite encounters (out of 160 quadrats) representing 15 species. Butterflies were more abundant and diverse in plantations than in the forest, whereas this pattern was opposite for resident butterflies and termites. There was marked faunal turnover between plantations and forest. We conclude that (a) the magnitude of faunal changes between forest and plantations is less drastic for termites than for butterflies; (b) resident butterfly species are more impacted by the conversion of forest to plantations than all butterflies, including transient species; and (c) species richness does not necessarily decrease in the series forest > native > exotic plantations. Whereas there are advantages of studying more tractable taxa such as butterflies, the responses of such taxa can be highly unrepresentative of other invertebrate groups responsible for different ecological services.