Biodiversity research in Ayacucho’s cloudforests

Publishing basic research on the biodiversity of the region will inform conservation policies and projects like ecotourism in the region or sustainable production of forest products. 

This was the first project focused on understanding the previously unknown diversity of the region’s insects. Closing this gap in scientific knowledge is an essential first step in protecting the region’s biodiversity. 

This research was coordinated by the Management of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of the Regional Government of Ayacucho.

• We collected critical information on the entomofauna—or insects—in the cloud forests of the VRAEM, focusing on wild native melipona bees and nymphalidae butterflies.

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• Our team recorded 203 species of insects including 195 species of butterflies and 8 species of melipona bees.

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• We also recorded sightings of 5 incredible primates species threatened by deforestation in the Chungui District of the La Mar Province including the Peruvian spider monkey Ateles chamek and the Peruvian white-fronted capuchin Cebus yaracus.

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1. Regional Government Ayacucho
2. MINAM
3. Yunkawasi

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