Preferences of Fruit-feeding Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in a Peat Swamp Forest, UNIMAS

Tay, Yu Liang (2022) Preferences of Fruit-feeding Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in a Peat Swamp Forest, UNIMAS. [Final Year Project Report] (Unpublished)

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Abstract

A study to determine the species composition and diet preferences of fruit-feeding butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) was conducted from February to March 2022 in a peat swamp forest of Real Living Lab (RLL), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS). Twenty traps were installed and baited with different fruits (apple, banana, orange, papaya and pineapple), which were placed alternately between traps. A total of 418 individuals comprising of 36 species from four subfamilies was recorded from the study site. The most diverse subfamily was Nymphalinae with 13 species recorded (36.11%), followed by Satyrinae with 12 species (33.33%) and Morphinae with 10 species (27.78%). The subfamily Charaxinae was only represented by singleton species, namely Prothoe franck borneensis. Meanwhile, the most abundant species was represented by Zeuxidia doubledayi horsefieldii with 79 individuals (18.90%), followed by Mycalesis anapita fucentia with 59 individuals (14.11%) and Tanaecia aruna aparasa with 34 individuals (8.13%), respectively. Analysis on the diet preferences of fruit-feeding butterflies towards five different baits revealed no significant difference for family level and each subfamily of Nymphalidae. Overall, the results showed that nymphalids shared the same degree of preferences toward the five baits. In addition, Tanaecia orphne, a Bornean endemic species, was documented in this study.

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