Forest Type as a Key Driver of Butterfly Species Diversity

Forest types and complex vegetation structures are key factors in promoting butterfly diversity. While considerable studies represent the checklists of butterfly species across various forest types in Bangladesh, the influence of different forest types on butterfly species diversity remains unexplored. To explore this, we conducted the study from April 2020 to October 2023, aiming to observe the butterfly species diversity across two forest types (mixed evergreen and deciduous) in Bangladesh. We recorded 253 butterfly species (6 families) in both forest types with mixed evergreen forest: 238, and deciduous forest: 145. The mixed evergreen forest showed higher species diversity ( H ′ = 5.28) compared to the deciduous forest ( H ′ = 4.55). A generalized linear model unveiled that forest type significantly influences species diversity ( p < 0.001), where mixed evergreen forests exhibit higher diversity. The Bray–Curtis dissimilarity index (ß diversity = 0.32) revealed a low level of variability in species composition between forest types that was corroborated by the analysis of similarities, indicating no significant differences ( p = 1.0). As both forest types support a substantial butterfly species, protection of the forests is required to maintain butterfly diversity within the highly modified land covers in Bangladesh.