Study sites
The study was conducted during the months of May and June 2021 on Lipsi
Island, Greece (approximate area: 17 km2), which is
located within the eastern Aegean Sea (37° 17’ 44.7” N, 26° 46’ 45.5” E)
and used as a model small island ecosystem. Nine urban and nine rural
sites with clear separation were selected (Figure 1). The minimum
distance between study sites in urban areas was 75.3 m, which limited
the double counting of individuals. Due to the lack of trees, shade is
restricted on Lipsi Island, thus, locations with high light intensity
and low shade were utilised to give an accurate representation of the
urban and rural habitats used by butterfly species. Sites were chosen to
represent the predominant land-use types utilised by butterflies during
one or several stages of their life cycle (Grill and Cleary, 2003). The
chosen rural habitats were shrubland, olive groves, and meadows, while
the urban habitats included agricultural meadows, abandoned land, parks,
roadsides, and olive groves. The sites were similar in size to keep the
sampling effort consistent.