Species composition and structure of population of butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionоidea) in the Nechkinsky national park (Udmurt Republic)

The article presents the results of a full-scale inventory of the species composition and population structure of the butterflies in natural communities of the Nechkinsky national park. It is located in the south-east of the Udmurt Republic. In June – July 2020, 91 representatives of the superfamily (more than 70% of the regional fauna) were registered in the Zakamsky district of the park, and two more species are known from the literature. Visual сensuring of the number of imago was carried out on eight transects in the main types of habitats. A high level of species diversity of butterflies was established in areas of steppe pine-broad-leaved forests and dry meadows. We noted the significance of the species of the semiarid sub-boreal complex for the formation of the characteristic landscape-zonal structure of the fauna, as well as the spatial-typological structure of the population of butterflies of the Zakamsky landscape region. Quantitative surveys allowed us to form an idea of the landscape activity of butterfly species in conditions of limited anthropogenic impact on natural communities. The results of our research can serve as a basis for assessing the state of populations and organizing monitoring observations of the dynamics of the composition and structure of the population of butterflies in the unprotected territories of the Udmurt Republic. During the field work, the habitats of four protected and seven bio-monitored species included in the republican Red Book were identified. In particular, the conservation of local populations of hypo-arctic-boreal species, such as Colias palaeno and Clossiana eunomia, was confirmed in the forest and bog natural communities of the park. Based on the results of the field inventory, it was concluded that the Nechkinsky national park performs an important function of preserving the composition and structure of typical and unique species complexes, populations of rare species of lepidopterans of the Udmurt Republic and the entire Vyatka-Kama landscape region.