Abstract

Butterflies are insects that consistently attract significant attention due to their beautiful appearance. In this review, we analyzed the feeding preferences of endangered butterfly larval host plants and adult nectar plants. We examined host and nectar plants of all Korean endangered butterfly species by referring to previous literature. Each endangered butterfly species in this review exhibited a narrow range of feeding preferences, utilizing between 0 to 3 plant families and 0 to 14 plant species as host plants. Both Aporia crataegi and Melitaea ambigua had the highest number of host plant families (n = 3), and A. crataegi had the highest number of host plant species (n = 14). In total, 13 families and 42 species of host plants were identified as being utilized by 14 target endangered butterfly species. Conversely, each endangered butterfly species in this review demonstrated a broad range of feeding preferences, utilizing between 2 to 12 plant families and 2 to 21 plant species as nectar plants. M. ambigua had the highest number of nectar plant families (n = 12) and the highest number of nectar plant species (n = 21). In total, 21 families and 61 species of nectar plants were identified as being utilized by 14 target endangered butterfly species. This review is the first to comprehensively summarize the host and nectar plants of all endangered butterflies in South Korea and could serve to establish future restoration plans for these butterflies.