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Click on area to view the workshop form.
The working group on invertebrates was narrowed down to insects due to the available expertise, and was restricted to ants (Hymenoptera), moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera). Due to the preponderance of research on the approximately one thousand West African forest butterflies, the group identified butterflies as the most useful taxa in identifying regional priorities. Because of the high level of endemicity among the butterfly taxa, many of the priority areas identified by the group overlapped with existing protected areas.
About one in eight butterfly species in the Upper Guinea region is endemic. Some are found throughout the forest zone, but many fall into two clear subdivisions, west and east of a line running through Abidjan. The group identified the following areas as important for micro-refugia: Loma Mountains (Sierra Leone), the Fouta Djalon (Guinea), the Nimba Mountains, the Atewa Range (Ghana), and the hill tracts of Ghana/Togo border area. These are among the most threatened habitats in all of Africa.
The insects working group used the following criteria to identify priority areas:
- Biological importance (species richness and species endemism)
- Biological uniqueness (critical habitats)
- Research needed on invertebrates
- Conservation actions needed
Members of the invertebrates working group: Leanne Alonso, Torben Larsen and Koen Maes.
