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February 12, 2026Functional Ecology

Larval diet breadth and wingspan mediate landscape–richness relationship in butterfly communities

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Authors

DVDušanka VujanovićMKMaja KneževićAĐAleksandra Đorđević

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Overview

Survey shows butterfly diversity relates to larval diets and wingspan, implying landscape traits shape communities.

Key Points

  • This study aims to understand how landscape features and butterfly traits jointly influence species richness and functional diversity.
  • Surveyed butterflies in 50 semi-natural grasslands in Serbia.
  • Modelled species richness using generalized additive models (GAMs) with landscape composition and configuration predictors.
  • Included community-weighted means of traits: wingspan and host-plant specificity.
  • Assessed functional divergence as a response to landscape gradients.
  • Complex agriculture was the only landscape predictor positively affecting species richness.
  • Host-plant specificity improved species richness models, with richness peaking at intermediate diets.
  • Isolation increased richness in communities with larger wingspans and also enhanced functional divergence.
  • Landscape effects persist after accounting for species richness, indicating filtering of traits occurs.

Cite This Study

Vujanović et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/698d6edc5be6419ac0d54c34https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.70270
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