Assessment 1

Butterfly species wingspan

This data contains the wingspan lengths of various butterfly species found in different areas of the world. This data could be used to find insights into whether there is a correlation between wingspan and the extent of dispersion observed among species.

MetadataSome of the literature provided separate measurements for forewing and hindwing lengths in addition to the overall wingspan.The research method was categorized as either “lab” or field.” In this context, “field” referred to specimens that were gathered from their natural habitat directly by the authors. Whereas “lab” referred to specimens obtained through other means such as museum collections or life-sized photographs.

Literature search protocolI searched Google Scholar using the phrase “butterfly wingspan length”, systematically reviewing the results from the top down. Papers were selected if they clearly indicated average wingspan length, measured directly by the authors, rather than from other sources. Many studies involved numerous species, usually found in the same area. Given the miniature scale of this database, papers describing more than four species prompted the random selection of a subset of species to broaden the scope of the literature covered.

Sources

Na, S., Lee, E., Kim, H., Choi, S. & Yi, H. 2021. The relationship of mean temperature and 9 collected butterfly species’ wingspan as the response of global warming. Journal of Ecology and Environment. 45(21).

Gentile, G., Bonelli, S., Riva, F. 2020.Evaluating intraspecific variation in insect trait analysis. Ecological Entomology. 46(1).

Attaullah, M., Haq, N., Buneri, I, D., Ulluh, R. & Rahim, A. 2018. Diversity of butterfly fauna of Doag Dara, Sheringal, Dir Upper, Pakistan. Journal of biodiversity and Environmental Sciences. 13(2).

Dudley, R. & Srygley, R. B. 1994. Flight Physiology of Neotropical Butterflies: Allometry of Airspeeds During Natural Free Flight. Journal of Experimental Biology. 191(1).

Krishnan, N., Zhang, Y., Aust, M. E., Hellmich, R. L., Coats, J. R., Bradbury, S. P. 2021. Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Life-Stage Risks from Foliar and Seed-Treatment Insecticides. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. 40(6).

Skorka, P., Nowicki, P., Kudlek, J., Pepkowska, A., Sliwinska, E. B., Witek, M., Settele, J. & Woyciechowski, M. 2013. Movements and flight morphology in the endangered Large Blue butterflies. Central European Journal of Biology. 8.

Akhtar, M. S. & Butt, F. T. 2006. Study of seasonal variations of Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus) from Lahore. Punjab University Journal of Zoology. 21(1-2).

Daly, K. M., Sikes, D. S., Mann, D. H., Breed, G. A. 2024. Wing lengths of three Arctic butterfly species decrease as summers warm in Alaska. Nordic Society Oikos.

Afifa, A., Lyes, B., Samia, B., Raouf, K. 2018. Appearance of Virachola livia (Klug, 1834) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and study of some biological parameters in an arid region of Algeria. Journal of Viticulture and Enology. 33(10).

Bhuyan, M., Mech, J., Rakshit, K. et al. 2013. Altitudinal shifts of butterflies due to the increase of air temperature – a case study in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.

Triple, A. D., Khuran, A. M. & Dennis, R. L. H. 2008. Adult butterfly feeding-nectar flower associations: constraints of taxonomic affiliation, butterfly, and nectar flower morphology. Journal of Natural History. 43(13-14).

Kennelly, D., Grigg, J., Tabaru, A., Sentak, K. 2017. The Effects of Temperature on Vanessa cardui Wing Size. The Journal of Biological Sciences.