Urbanization rates are increasing worldwide; therefore, urban and semi-urban ecosystems are the focus of various studies that explore their importance for biodiversity conservation. In the order Lepidoptera high species diversity has been observed in areas with distinct levels of disturbance. In Ecuador, most efforts to study the diversity of butterflies have been concentrated in protected natural areas, whereas studies in semi-urban or urban areas are limited. In this study, we measured the diversity of diurnal Lepidoptera in two semi-urban areas, in southern Ecuador. We visited these areas during the dry season, in the hours of peak butterfly activity, and recorded the species and abundances of each. We estimated relative abundances, evenness, and beta diversity to characterize butterfly assemblages. We found high abundance and richness of Lepidoptera species and low similarities between the two semi-urban areas (Jaccard index = 0.21). Highest species richness was observed in the most heterogeneous area in terms of vegetation composition, owing to the type of management that it receives. Four species represented 50% of the total abundance observed in both sites, and various singletons were registered. This pattern of dominance is characteristic of disturbed areas, where generalist species adapt easily to anthropic environments. However, we also found relatively high richness and abundance of the members of the tribe Ithomiini, which are mostly present in primary forests. Our findings highlight the importance of semi-urban areas for conservation of butterfly diversity and the crucial role of proper management of anthropic areas to preserve biodiversity in this changing world.

全球城市化率正在上升；因此，城市和半城市生态系统是各种研究的重点，这些研究探讨了它们对生物多样性保护的重要性。按照鳞翅目的顺序，在扰动程度不同的地区观察到高物种多样性。在厄瓜多尔，大多数研究蝴蝶多样性的努力都集中在自然保护区，而在半城市或城市地区的研究却很有限。在这项研究中，我们测量了厄瓜多尔南部两个半城市地区昼夜鳞翅目的多样性。我们在干旱季节蝴蝶活动高峰期间访问了这些地区，并记录了每种物种的种类和丰度。我们估计了相对丰度，均匀度和β多样性来表征蝴蝶组合。我们发现鳞翅目物种的丰度和丰富度较高，而两个半城市地区之间的相似度较低（Jaccard指数= 0.21）。由于其所接受的管理方式，在最不均匀的地区，就植被组成而言，物种丰富度最高。四个物种代表了在两个站点中观察到的总丰度的50％，并且记录了各种单例。这种优势模式是受干扰地区的特征，在这些地区，通才物种容易适应人类环境。但是，我们也发现了Ithomiini部落成员的相对较高的丰富度和丰度，这些成员大多存在于原始森林中。