Abstract:
Butterflies are great focal species, due to their involvement in a variety of
environmental processes, little is known about how butterflies differ across altitudinal
gradients. For this, butterfly communities were investigated along an altitudinal gradient of
414–766 m a.s.l, along various farms in the provinces of M’sila. Five survey sites were
chosen in our three-month study (February, March, and April) to access the diversity of
butterflies. These locations were chosen based on elevation and types of agricultural products
(e.g. Alfalfa cultivation, Apricot orchards, Olive orchards, Barley cultivation, and Carrot
cultivation). We aimed to determine how the altitudinal gradient affects the butterfly diversity
and abundance. Our findings indicate that Altogether we recorded 550 individuals of
butterflies, belonging to 11 species under 03 families. Site I with an elevation of 414 m a.s.l
represented by 219 individual and 09 species , while site V with the higher elevation 766
m.a.s.l represented by 39 individuals and 05 taxa. Shannon’s Index describes species
diversity. Maximum species diversity was observed for Site I (1.844 bits), and minimum
diversity for Site V (1.280 bits). During the present investigation we concluded that as
altitude rises, both the richness and diversity of all butterfly species significantly decrease
