Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India

Abstract

We present a systematic, updated checklist of larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot. This includes recent new records, with a total of approximately 834 plant species/groups belonging to 88 families that are used by 320 butterfly species of the Western Ghats (the host plant records for 16 species are unknown). A reverse list is also provided as a reference to plant species-wise plant-butterfly associations. This work highlights the diversity of plant species on which the endemic and other butterfly species of the Western Ghats depend.

Keywords

• biodiversity hotspots
• herbivore diversity
• lepidoptera
• plant-insect interactions
• species inventories.