Butterflies are a group of insects that can be used as indicator species for habitat destructions, because they are very sensitive to changes in floral diversity, vegetation structure, and structural components of the habitat. Information on the effects of land use and forest disturbance can provide insights into effective conservation strategies for the maintenance of insect diversity, particularly in fragmented landscapes

Community Structure of Butterfly in Salak Mountain (Funded by Chevron Corporate)

Danaus melannipus by Hery

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of land-use changes and forest conversion on the butterfly species richness and to evaluate the conservation value of paddy field plantations for butterfly communities.
The ecological research was conducted between September 2003 and September 2004 on two different habitats (secondary forest, paddy fields at the lower slopes of Mount Salak) at five different locations. Butterflies were surveyed by transect walks. Those specimens that could not be designated to species in the field were caught with a sweep net and identified subsequently in the laboratory.

With our work on butterfly diversity we identified a total number of 1041 individual butterflies belonging to 75 species (42 species in the forest, 46 species in paddy fields) at Salak Mountain. Several species were recorded in forest types as well as in paddy fields such as Lethe confusa, Melanitis leda, Eurema hecabe, and Faunis canens arcesilas.Two butterfly species, Radena (ideopsis sp.) and Cethosia sp. were only found in the forest. Our findings from different areas at Mount Salak showed that the species composition of butterfly communities is significantly related to the habitat type. Different habitats and different areas have a different butterfly-species-composition, i.e. each of the five different forest areas showed a different species composition. Moreover the species richness in areas where the forest experienced only minor disturbance was higher than in areas with heavily modified habitats. Several species could be found only in one forest type. For example, the species Prioneris autothisbe, Cepora aspasia, Graphium evemon, and Jamides caeruleus were only found in production forests, while Taenaris sp., Papilio demolion, Cethosia sp. and Delias belisama only occurred in secondary forests with low disturbance. Radena (Idiopsis) sp. was only found in disturbed forests. The species richness in moderate disturbed forests was higher than in production forests. The paddy fields close to forests with moderate disturbances showed higher richness then paddy fields close to production forests as well. The species richness was also significantly higher in lower altitudes (750-900 m) than in higher ones (1050-1500 m). The species accumulation curves for butterfly species in production forests already reached saturation. We concluded that the production forest does not support the local butterfly species richness substantially but that nearby forests contribute largely to the recordable butterfly species richness in surrounding paddy fields. Altitude and time of day significantly affect the number of recorded species. Paddy fields obviously act as a sink for forest butterflies but do not contribute significantly to the conservation of butterflies. Several species recorded in paddy fields such as Troides helena certainly cannot survive in that habitat and have to be considered only as visitors from the neighboring forest. Our data indicate that there is a site-specific species composition of butterfly communities and that habitat isolation contributes significantly to the presence of single species.

Survey on Butterfly in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (in collaboration with WCS)

Butterfly community structure in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park was investigated between September 2005 and May 2006. Ecological researchwas conducted at five different locations covering two different habitats: primary forest and  secondary forest .

Butterflies were surveyed by conducting transect walks. Specimens that could not be designated to species in the field were caught with a sweep net and identified subsequently in the laboratory.

We found 1825 individuals belonging to 185 species at BBSNP.  Family Nymphalidae was commonly found in all location and forest type,  and it dominates butterfly communities with its individual number that covers more than 50% of all collected specimen. Two endangered species Trogonoptera brookiana (Kupu Trogon/ Rajah Brook’s Birdwing) and Troides near vandepolli were found only in a very limited number.  Species richness in secondary forest was found to be higher than in primary forest. The findings from different sites at BBSNP showed that species composition of butterfly communities significantly related to habitat type. Our analyses indicated that forest transformation significantly affects the structure of Butterfly communities but not for species richness. Our data indicated that there is a site-specific species composition of butterfly communities and forest transformation that may contribute significantly to the presence of single species