Abundance and diversity of butterflies in urban green areas of Setif city (Algeria)

Butterflies are essential bioindicators of environmental health and play a critical role in maintaining ecosystem stability. Understanding their diversity and distribution in urban areas is crucial for biodiversity conservation. We conducted a survey of butterflies in Setif city to address the lack of information on butterfly diversity in Algerian urban environments. Butterflies were surveyed using pollard’s transect walking technique, with transects ranging from 500 m to 1 km. The observer recorded individuals within a 5x5x5 m area while walking each transect at a steady pace. Butterfly survey was conducted twice to three times each month from September 2021 to June 2023. In total, 726 individuals were collected, belonging to 32 species. The most abundant families were Pieridae and Nymphalidae, while Hesperiidae had the fewest species and individuals. Pieris rapae and Pararge aegeria were the most frequent and abundant species. The highest biodiversity indices were found in the Amusement Park (Shannon H = 2.43, Simpson 1-D = 0.867), and the lowest in Kitab Chahid Garden (Shannon H = 1.758) and Zenadia Forest (Simpson 1-D = 0.765). Equitability ranged from 0.67 to 0.88. Cluster analysis revealed two distinct groups of butterfly communities among the green areas. Pararge aegeria and Pieris rapae accounted for 50% of the differences between the green areas.