Rapid Assessment of Lepidoptera Predation Rates in Neotropical Forest Fragments1

The mechanisms underlying responses of invertebrates to forest edges remain poorly understood. Here, we use an experimental approach to investigate the predation rates on butterflies in two neotropical forest fragments. Neither distance from forest edge nor degree of forest openness affected predation rates on artificial caterpillars. The mean predation rate of artificial caterpillars on Barro Colorado Island (1500 ha) was significantly higher than that on Peninsula Gigante (2600 ha) likely due to density-dependent effects. Our study demonstrates the utility of artificial predation experiments for rapid assessment of relative lepidoptera predation rates in tropical forests.