Butterfly communities in and around Kaya Kambe

Many butterflies are dependent on specific habitat structures and resources (specific caterpillar food plants and nectar resources) due to their sometimes complex life cycles (larval and imaginal phases). Thus, butterflies are optimal model organisms to detect changes in nature. Butterflies were recorded in Kaya Kambe and surrounding habitat types along established transects. Based on these collected data, species communities were described, and the value of the forest for typical forest butterfly species was outlined. This working package was realized by Rebecca Lippert, Laura Wagner (SDEI), with guidance by Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitt (SDEI) and Dr. Maria Fungomeli (NMK).