Pattern of Interaction of the Pierid Butterfly with 
Vernonia cinerea Plant in Urban Habitat

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Rudrangshu Bandyopadhyay, Souvik Chakraborty, Sumit Kumar 
Pramanik, Arunava Mukherjee, Banani Mandal, Bulganin Mitra

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Received 20 January 2023, Accepted 27 May 2023, Published on 18 August 2023

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ABSTRACT

 

The abundance of pierid butterflies were estimated from June to September and their foraging pattern on Vernonia cinerea was recorded. Among the five butterfly species Appias albina was observed to be most frequent visitor of Vernonia cinerea comparatively than Leptosia nina (Psyche), Eurema hecabe (Common grass yellow), Catopsilia pomona (Common emigrant) and Catopsilia pyranthe (Mottled emigrant). The foraging activity pattern of these butterflies showed a definite pattern of foraging schedule by showing a resource partitioning. One sample t-test and month wise ANOVA indicated significant difference (p<0.05) for each butterfly species in different timeslots and how is co-related with blooming period of Vernonia cinerea. Our study indicates the importance of weeds like Vernonia cinerea in butterfly conservation project. The present study provides preliminary information on the interaction between native plants and butterflies.

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Keywords   Vernonia cinerea, Butterfly, Foraging, Time slots.