CONSERVATION
IUCN Redlist category Least Concern (IUCN 2020)
Rationale for redlist categorization Troides miranda has been assessed as Least Concern. This species has a relatively wide distribution throughout northern Borneo and is also found in Sumatra, leading to an estimated extent of occurrence of around 118,000 km?. The species has been reported from logged forest as well as pristine forest, suggesting that it is able to withstand some disturbance as long as the food plant vine remains within the habitat. The species is traded, although in low numbers compared to other Troides and is protected in Indonesia. However, very little is known about the montane subspecies neomiranda , located in Sumatra, so that additional research into the distribution and population status of this subspecies would vastly improve our knowledge of this species and our ability to address any population declines where they may occur. (IUCN 2020)
Threat category Ecosystem conversion|Ecosystem degradation,Species mortality (IUCN 2020)
Cause of stress Intentional use (species is the target),Shifting agriculture (IUCN 2020)
Described Threats The species is listed on CITES Appendix II together with the genera Ornithoptera and Trogonoptera , with the exception of O. alexandrae which is listed on Appendix I. Recently traded individuals appear to come mostly from captive or ranched populations (CITES 2015). Butterfly ranching is generally thought of as a sound, economically viable and sustainable rural industry (Wambi 1996, Hanscom 1993, Burrows 2003 in Small 2007). However, there are concerns that butterfly ranching may not be as sustainable in some countries as it is often perceived to be (e.g., Papua New Guinea; Small 2007). This is based on a lack of data and species monitoring to assess the status of butterfly populations, and for many species, such monitoring is fraught with difficulty due to inaccessibility of their habitat (Small 2007). New and Collins (1991) noted that trade is extremely difficult to monitor because transportation of unpinned specimens is easy, especially of comparatively low value species which may instead be traded at high volumes. It has been stated that overcollecting seldom becomes a threat to butterflies, due to the reproductive capacity of insects and the difficulty in capturing significant numbers of the population (Pyle and Hughes 1978, in Parsons 1992). However, where birdwing butterflies are highly specific to host plants and where density of these hosts plants limits population size, collection in conjunction with habitat loss could have significant impacts on the species or subpopulations.
Selective logging has been identified as a main disturbance to biodiversity, and butterflies specifically, in the forests of Southeast Asia (Willott et al. 2000); in addition, forest loss from fires and conversion of land to plantations has been continuing over the past decades, especially on Borneo, with industrial scale extraction since the 1970s (Gaveau et al. 2014). It is estimated that between 1973 and 2010, forest area on Borneo has declined by around 30%, with losses highest in Sabah and Kalimantan (Gaveau et al. 2014). This is also reflected in the latest data from Global Forest Watch which shows high levels of forest loss in northeast Sabah, and throughout Sarawak (Hansen et al. 2013). Given that some logged forests retain relatively high levels of biodiversity, protecting these forests from fire and conversion to plantations is paramount (Gaveau et al. 2014). Some studies have shown that more species of butterfly were observed in logged forest compared to primary rainforest; this included Troides miranda , although it may be that individuals fly at lower height in logged forests and are more easily observed and counted (Willott et al. 2000). However, the species was found to fly in logged forest (Willott et al. 2000), suggesting that it is able to use this habitat. (IUCN 2020)
Commercial use Butterflies are mostly traded dead for the curio market (Collins and Morris 1985, New and Collins 1991). Between 1998 to 2007, 306,000 butterflies were traded from Southeast Asia, with 13,000 of these being wild-caught (Nijman 2010). There is a distinct shift towards ranched and captive-bred individuals in trade from 2003 onwards; in 1985, it was reported that globally less than 10% of trade was in ranched individuals (Collins and Morris 1985). Altogether at least 34 different species were recorded in trade, most of which belonged to the birdwing butterflies ( Troides and Ornithoptera ; Nijman 2010). It should be noted that trade in butterflies may be underreported, because of difficulties monitoring. New and Collins (1991) noted that trade is extremely difficult to monitor because transportation of unpinned specimens is easy, especially of comparatively low value species which may instead be traded at high volumes. Birdwings can fetch high prices on the market. For example, butterfly collectors have paid high prices for birdwing butterflies of this genus: a pair of Ornithoptera meridionalis was reported to have fetched USD 3,400 in Germany (Melisch and Schutz 2000). Reported prices for Troides are however much lower. For example, a more recent pricing was around $85 per pair of T. hypolitus , around $15 per individual of T. helena and between $43 and $85 per pair of T. haliphron (Putri 2016). This species is listed on Appendix II of CITES. Recent data from the CITES Trade database show, that since 2000 and 2015 around 1,500 individuals were exported from Indonesia and Malaysia (CITES 2015). Only around 4% of these come from wild-caught individuals (CITES 2015) and most individuals are from ranched populations (especially in Indonesia; UNEP-WCMC 2012). No trade was reported during this time period from Brunei Darussalam (CITES 2015). (IUCN 2020)
Applied conservation actions In a status assessment of the world's swallowtail butterflies in 1985, this species was not considered to be threatened (Collins and Morris 1985). In 1991, New and Collins suggested work to fully integrate swallowtails into national conservation planning in Indonesia (1991), primarily for those species which were identified as threatened at the time - however, any such work is likely to have benefited all birdwing species in the country. The species is also protected in Indonesia (Collins and Morris 1985, Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia 1999). The species is likely to occur in protected areas within its range. Given how little is known about subspecies neomiranda, additional research into the subspecific distribution and population status would vastly improve our knowledge of this species and our ability to address any population declines where they may occur. (IUCN 2020)
REFERENCES
- CITES. 2015. CITES Trade Data Base. Available at: http://trade.cites.org/.
- Collins, N.M. and Morris, M.G. 1985. Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. The IUCN Red Data Book. IUCN, Gland and Cambridge.
- Gaveau, D.L.A., Sloan, S., Molidena, E., Yaen, H., Sheil, D., Abram, N.K., Ancrenaz, M., Nasi, R., Quinones, M., Wielaard., N. and Meijaard, E. 2014. Four decades of forest persistence, clearance and logging on Borneo. PLoS One 9(7): e101654.
- Hanscom, T. 1993. Setting hearts aflutter: little butterflies take wing as big business. The Rotarian 163: 16-19.
- Hansen, M.C., Potapov, P.V., Moore, R., Hancher, M., Turubanova, S.A., Tyukavina, A., Thau, D., Stehman, S.V., Goetz, S.J., Loveland, T.R., Kommareddy, A,. Egorov, A., Chini, L., Justice, C.O. and Townshend, J.R.G. 2013. High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342: 850-853.
- IUCN. 2020. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2020-3. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 10 December 2020).
- Melisch, R. and Schutz, P. 2000. Butterflies and beetles in Germany. Traffic Bulletin 18: 91-93.
- New, T.R. and Collins, N.M. 1991. Swallowtail butterflies: an action plan for their conservation. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources/Species Survival Commission Lepidoptera Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland.
- Nijman, V. 2010. An overview of international wildlife trade from Southeast Asia. Biodiversity and Conservation 19(1101-1114).
- Parsons, M.J. 1992. The butterfly farming and trading industry in the Indo-Australian region and its role in tropical forest conservation. Tropical Lepidoptera 3(Suppl. 1): 1-31.
- Peraturan Pemerintah Republik Indonesia. 1999. Nomor 7 Tahun 1999 tentang Pengawetan Jenis Tumbuhan Dan Satwa.
- Putri, I.A.S.L.P. 2016. Handicraft of butterflies and moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park and its implications on conservation. Biodiversitas 17(2): 823-831.
- Pyle, R.M. and Hughes, S.A. 1978. Conservation and Utilization of the Insect Resources of Papua New Guinea. Wildlife Branch, Department of Natural Resources, Port Moresby.
- Small, R.D.S. 2007. Becoming unsustainable? Recent trends in the formal sector of insect trading in Papua New Guinea. Oryx 41(3): 386-389.
- UNEP-WCMC. 2012. Review of butterflies from Asia and Oceania subject to long-standing positive opinions. Prepared for the European Commission Directorate General E - Environment ENV.E.2. ? Development and Environment. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge.
- Wambi, D. 1996. Birds, bugs and butterflies. New Guinea Insight 6: 5-9.