J.D. Lafontaine and J.T. Troubridge. 1998. Moths and Butterflies (Lepidoptera) in Smith, I.M., and G.G.E. Scudder, eds. Assessment of species diversity in the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. Burlington: Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network, 1998.

MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES
(LEPIDOPTERA)

J.D. Lafontaine
and
J.T. Troubridge

LEPIDOPTERA DIVERSITY IN THE MONTANE CORDILLERA ECOZONE

The Montane Cordillera Ecozone supports a diverse fauna of butterflies and moths with 1,983 species recorded in 67 families. The impressive diversity of the Montane Cordillera Ecozone results from two factors: 1) the distinct ecological habitats within the Ecozone, and 2) the number of adjacent Ecozones that have small but diverse habitat extensions that extend into the Montane Cordillera Ecozone. The adjacent Ecozones that filter into the Montane Cordillera Ecozone are: 1) the Plains Ecozone, which extends into the Rocky Mountain foothills in southwestern Alberta and in a small area in British Columbia; 2) the Boreal Plains Ecozone, which extends through the Peace River district into the Fraser Basin and Fraser Plateau Ecoregions; 3) Boreal Cordillera Ecozone, which extends into the northern portion of the Montane Cordillera Ecozone and is probably best studied on Pink Mountain at the extreme northern limit of the Montane Cordillera Ecozone; 4) the Pacific Maritime Ecozone with species from the Coastal Mountains occurring in the western portion of the Montane Cordillera Ecozone, particularly in the Lillooet area, and species from the Lower Mainland that extend along the Fraser River to Lytton and beyond.

Table 1 lists the 67 families of Lepidoptera known from the Ecozone in the three groups described above under “Lepidoptera classification and habits”. The four columns give the number of species known from the Montane Cordillera Ecozone, British Columbia, Canada, and North America (north of Mexico). The latter number is from Hodges et al. (1983).

TABLE 1. Diversity of Lepidoptera species by family