Recent butterfly observations from Mauritius

A total of 40 butterfly species have been recorded historically from the western Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. This study presents observations made over five days, from 18–23 October 2015, on the Mauritian butterfly fauna. Four localities were selected to cover a variety of natural and disturbed biotopes, as well as altitudinal ranges. The four localities were: 1) Grande Gaube; 2) Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanic Gardens; 3) Le Morne; 4) Chamarel. Thirty species were recorded during this study. Grand Gaube had the highest species richness (i.e. 21 taxa) and the Botanic Gardens the lowest (i.e. 12 taxa). Most of the species recorded were rarely seen with seven taxa very common in one or more localities. All the extant endemic taxa were recorded during this study. Documenting temporal species dynamics can highlight changes in species richness over time, which can assist in identifying taxa of conservation concern. A brief account of each species recorded during this study is given, and discussed in context to the historical published literature.