Data for: Sun, Ogushi, Tseng -Lepidoptera species richness and community composition in urban street trees

The triple threats of climate change, habitat loss, and environmental pollution have stimulated discussion on how urban areas can be modified to both mitigate heat increases and provide habitat for wildlife such as insects. The strategy of using trees to reduce temperatures has been adopted by numerous cities. However, the majority of street trees planted around the world are non-native. Studies conducted in non-urban areas have demonstrated in comparison to native plants, non-native plants are less likely to support native insect diversity. Here we use a database approach to quantify the number of native Lepidoptera species associated with 76 of the most common street tree species planted in Vancouver, Canada. We tested the prediction that compared to non-native trees, native street trees will support a higher diversity and unique community of native Lepidoptera. As predicted, native street trees were associated with five times as many native Lepidoptera species, and the Lepidoptera co..., Data were compiled from existing databases or published literature. No new data were collected., , # Sun, Ogushi, Tseng -Lepidoptera species richness and community composition in urban street trees - DATA

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3j9kd51r7](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3j9kd51r7)

Here we compiled all known Lepidoptera associated with street trees planted in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Tree data were downloaded from the City of Vancouver Open Data Portal. Lepidoptera mostly data came from HOSTS: A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants ([https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/hosts](https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/hosts)) and in a few cases came from published literature. Data on whether the Lepidoptera in HOSTS were also found in British Columbia came from the British Columbia Conservation Data Center Ecosystems Explorer portal ([https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/](https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/)). Data regarding whether the tree species is native to British Columbia came from the Biota of North America Program ([http://bonap.org/](http://bonap.org/)). Data regardin...