Atlas of the butterflies and moths of Nigeria, LepiMap report, 2010–2021

Abstract

Interest in citizen science, notably biodiversity mapping, has soared recently in Africa, owing to several converging factors. First, is the growing  recognition that biodiversity is threatened, and second, there is a need for collective effort among the public to improve the state of biodiversity, driven  by human activities. Amongst the important biodiversity components is Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) which underpin crucial roles in the  ecosystem. Although Lepidoptera has been a major field of study for the past decades, its ecology and distribution have only recently gained important  attention among the public, particularly in West Africa. This paper reports on the number of butterflies and moths recorded for Nigeria on the LepiMap  database. The database contains 1578 records from January 2010 up to August 2021, from 98 quarter-degree grid cells of the 1306 grid cells in Nigeria  (7.5% of grid cells). There are 1219 recorded identified to species level (77%), with 359 awaiting identifications, mostly moths. The number of  Lepidopterans recorded was 219 species belonging to 16 families. The most frequently recorded species were Catopsilia florella (28 grid cells, 64 records),  Telchinia serena (27 grid cells, 61 records), and Danaus chrysippus alcippus (23 grid cells, 49 records). One of the most important successes of  LepiMap during the last three years in Nigeria was the increase in the number of observers and coverage by 600%, which is crucial to gathering  lepidopteran mapping data for conservation action. It is recommended that data collection be geared toward areas having no or low coverage, yet  refreshing old records are also important for understanding changes in species composition across grid cells.