Diversidad vertical y temporal de mariposas diurnas (Lepidoptera) del Parque Nacional Yasuní

Ecuador hosts nearly 21.3 % of all described species of diurnal butterflies of the world. Yasuní National Park (PNY) is home to about a third of such richness, which remains poorly studied. A group of park rangers and technicians from the PNY performed a monitoring program over two years to determine temporal and vertical diversity of diurnal butterflies in the park, as part of the Park-Ranger Technical Training Program, led by various institutions. Diversity indices were estimated for each month, stratum (canopy and understory), and bait preference (banana and tilapia). From August 2017 to July 2019, 3219 specimens from four families, 112 genera, and 244 species were recorded, representing 6.1 % of Ecuador’s butterfly richness. The greatest number of records were found in the understory (75 %), compared to the canopy, as well as in tilapia bait (75 %), compared to banana bait. The periods with the greatest abundance were September, October, November, and January, these are months with the least precipitation. We report greater diversity in PNY compared to other sites with similar sampling efforts; and we suggest that the butterfly community is under changing dynamics, since studies performed in the same locality 24 years ago show different results. This study highlights PNY as a hyperdiverse site, as well as the importance of involving local actors to contribute to its conservation efforts.