Knowledge Bank

Although much is known about plant succession in prairie habitats, information on invertebrate succession is not widely available. Tracking developmental change in a restored prairie requires baseline estimates of insect species present upon establishment of the site. In this study, I sampled lepidopteran (butterflies and moths) species in a recently burned prairie restoration on The Ohio State University at Lima campus during July of 2022 to discover the community composition present in early succession, and to evaluate if any prairie specialists were present. To sample lepidopteran diversity in the Tecumseh Interpretive Nature Preserve, three methods were employed: one malaise trap, one light trap, and weekly aerial netting. A plant survey was also employed for 4 sites in the prairie July of 2022. Diversity metrics for lepidopterans and plants sampled were calculated using R software. Although a relatively small amount of plant diversity was found at the prairie, the habitat supports a diverse community of lepidopterans, with 13 families and 48 species. This community is primarily made up of generalists but does include two specialists. The findings support the hypothesis that there are currently more generalist species of lepidopterans in the restored prairie than there are specialist species. Out of 48 species found, only two were known to be prairie specialist species. This is likely due to a combination of the prairie's young age and recent total burn. Plants displayed low diversity, but a larger sampling effort should be pursued. Continuing to monitor for changes in populations of butterflies and moths present in the prairie is an inexpensive and straightforward way to monitor changes in the environment. As the prairie matures, the species composition will change along with plant succession. Tracking changes in lepidopteran biodiversity is an important task for new scientists to take on as we advance what is known about insect succession in prairie ecosystems.