Data used in "Fragments of open- and closed-canopy habitat host significant fruitfeeding butterfly diversity in a large city in Southern India"

To gauge the diversity, community composition, and temporal variation of butterflies in urban habitats, we sampled fruit-feeding butterflies (species that feed on fruit rather than flower nectar) in a large city in southern India. We performed longer-term sampling in two sites with mainly open habitats (fragments of rural landscape), and more modest sampling in two closed-canopy urban sites (semi-natural and agroforestry) and a nearby natural forest. We caught 3625 butterflies belonging to 29 species, of which seventeen species were recorded in the open habitats, and a further five species in the closed-canopy sites in the city. The Excel file provides the place and date for each specimen with information on the species in a separate sheet.