Stratification of fruit feeding butterflies at a conservation forest of oil palm plantation in West Sumatra, Indonesia

Abstract

The research on the stratification of fruit feeding butterflies was conducted in conservation forest of oil palm plantation of Tidar Kerinci Agung (TKA) Company, Indonesia. Samples were collected on the understory and the canopy level (6 traps of each) of the forest by using cylindrical gauze with rotten pineapples. A total of 158 individuals of fruit feeding butterflies were collected which comprised 25 species belonging to three families and 16 genera. The highest number of species was found in Satyridae (11 species), followed by Nymphalidae (10 species) meanwhile Amathusidae was the lowest (four species). The diversity index for all samples collected was 2.72 with 57.14% of similarity index between understory and canopy.