Butterflies Species Richness and Diversity in Panti Forest Eco-Park, Johor, Malaysia

Centre of Research for Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources (COR-SUNR), Department of Technology and Natural Resources, Faculty of Applied Sciences and Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: aqilah@uthm.edu.my

Abstract

This study thoroughly examines butterfly diversity in the Panti Forest Eco-Park, Johor, Malaysia. Data collected from November 2017 to July 2018 involved the use of aerial nets and baited traps along a 1 km transect, resulting in 207 individuals of 75 species. The Nymphalidae family was most prevalent, representing 152 individuals across 49 species. The rank abundance curve highlighted Iambrix stellifer and Lexias pardalis dirteana as the most abundant species. Notably, 37 species were solitary occurrences, making up 49.3% of the entire sample. Several singleton species were identified, including Dichorragia nesimachus deiokes (Nymphalidae), Danaus melanippus hegesippus (Nymphalidae), Gandaca harina distanti (Pieridae), and Eooxylides tharis distanti (Lycaenidae). The calculated Hʹ Index of 4.004 and EH value of 0.9218 indicate high butterfly diversity, positioning the Panti Forest Eco-Park as one of Johor's most diverse locations. Variations in dominant families compared to earlier works may be due to sampling methods. Additionally, the attraction of Lexias pardalis dirteana to baited traps emphasizes the importance of methodological considerations in butterfly diversity assessments. Furthermore, compared to prior research, a lower species count was observed, attributed to the exclusion of the bunker trail as a sampling site.