Morphological variables of the butterfly guild and their functional role in foraging behavior on the visiting plants: Optimization by Artificial Neural Network Model

Abstract

Butterfly species are regarded as one of the most important members of the plant-pollinator guild. They mainly feed on nectar, and occasionally they rely on pollen. It was reported that butterfly species collect nectar from a greater array of plants. Emperical studies demonstrate that morphological variables of the butterfly species play an important role in foraging. Four morphological variables and two indices, viz., proboscis length, wing span, body length, and weight, and proboscis index and the wing load index of the butterfly species, were used to check their effect on foraging behavior on two plants, viz., Lantana camara (LCA) and Tridax procumbens (TPR), for the current study. Wing load index emerged as the most sensitive factor for foraging on these two plants. Both plants have the highest rate of visits by the butterfly species, with Lantana camara being more frequently visited than Tridax procumbens (TPR). We can conclude that the information gained from this study may help to conserve and sustain the butterfly community in the wild, and this, in turn, may also help to facilitate conservation strategies for the naturally growing nectaring plant species.