Seasonal Ecology of Butterfly Communities and Its Implications for Conservation in Sariska National Park

Abstract

Butterflies are considered important ecological indicators due to their close association with vegetation structure, host plant availability, climatic conditions and habitat quality. Seasonal fluctuations strongly influence butterfly emergence, abundance, reproductive activity and community composition. The present study investigates seasonal variations in butterfly diversity in Sariska National Park, Rajasthan, India, across four ecological seasons: summer, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter. Seasonal differences were evaluated using abundance, species richness, Shannon–Wiener diversity index, Simpson diversity index, Pielou evenness and statistical analyses including one-way ANOVA and Tukey pairwise comparisons. The results revealed significant seasonal variation in butterfly abundance and richness, with the highest abundance recorded during the post-monsoon season (892 individuals), followed by summer (338 individuals), monsoon (309 individuals) and winter (245 individuals). Diversity indices also showed maximum values during post-monsoon, indicating favourable ecological conditions due to increased vegetation growth, flowering intensity and availability of larval host plants after rainfall. The seasonal pattern demonstrates the strong influence of climatic factors and resource availability on butterfly community structure. The findings highlight the importance of long-term seasonal monitoring and habitatbased conservation approaches for maintaining butterfly diversity in semi-arid protected landscapes such as Sariska National Park.