Malesian Butterflies
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Malesian Butterflies
Troides dohertyi Rippon, 1893

CONSERVATION

IUCN Redlist category
Vulnerable (IUCN 2020)

Rationale for redlist categorization
Troides dohertyi has been assessed as Vulnerable. The species has a upper estimated extent of occurrence of 10,700 km?. Very little additional data exists on the species. Given the rarity of records, it is likely that the species is naturally rare and probably occurring in a restricted number of localities (ten or fewer), given that few areas of primary forest remain for this species, especially on Sangihe Island. Here, human population density has been reportedly causing threat to other forest species, such as the tarsier Tarsius sangirensis , which has seen a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat. While there is some evidence of recent forest loss on Talaud island, it is unclear if this has caused continuing declines in the species' coastal habitats. It is vital that surveys for this species are carried out to establish its range extent more fully and to assess population status as well as habitat requirements and whether the species may persist in secondary vegetation. There is also some uncertainty about the taxonomic status of this species as some authors consider it to be a subspecies of Troides rhadamantus . (IUCN 2020)

Threat category
Ecosystem conversion|Ecosystem degradation,Species mortality (IUCN 2020)

Cause of stress
Intentional use (species is the target),Shifting agriculture,Housing & urban areas (IUCN 2020)

Described Threats
Human population pressures on the Sangihe and Talaud Islands were considered higher than in any other part of the province of Northern Sulawesi (Collins and Morris, 1985). This is especially true for the coastal areas which this species preferentially inhabits which were reported to be most affected by development and habitat conversion (UNEP-WCMC 2012). Human population pressures, resulting from high human densities, affect other species on Sangihe, such as the tarsier Tarsirus sangirensis (Shekelle and Salim 2009), which has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List due to a continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat (Shekelle and Salim 2011).
In the past, this species was considered to be threatened by habitat loss, particularly considering its restricted distribution, and it was unclear whether the species would be able to adapt to secondary vegetation composition (Collins and Morris 1985). Data are still lacking to assess whether the species can persist in secondary vegetation. While data from Global Forest Watch suggest that there has been limited loss in forest cover on Sangihe Island since 2001 (Hansen et al. 2013), much of the forest on the island is reported to be non-primary forest, with only around 800 ha of primary forest remaining (Riley 2002). Most of the coastal forested areas consist of secondary forest (Shekelle and Salim 2009). Some forest loss, including within the area of the Karakelang Selatan Wildlife Reserve, has occurred on the largest of the Talaud Islands (Hansen et al. 2013).
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. (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 under reported, 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 just over 2,700 individuals were exported from Indonesia (CITES 2015). Nearly 90% of these come from ranched populations (CITES 2015). A review of trade in butterflies from Asia and Oceania to the European Union suggests that most specimens were traded commercially from ranched sources, with Germany and France as the main importers (UNEP-WCMC 2012). (IUCN 2020)

Applied conservation actions
This species was listed as Indeterminate by Collins and Morris (1985) and Baillie & Groombridge (1996) on account of its very restricted range. It is protected in Indonesia as a subspecies of Troides rhadamantus (see taxonomic notes; Vane-Wright and de Jong 2003). The species may occur in protected areas across its restricted range, although there are few direct records and it was noted that the islands where the species occurs were not very well served with protected areas (Collins and Morris 1985). For example, on Sangihe, there were no strictly protected areas in 2002, although three areas were designated as 'Protection Forests', two with little natural habitat remaining (Riley 2002). Collins and Morris (1985) suggested the species may benefit from some protection within the Karakelang Hunting Reserve, located on the largest of the Talaud Islands. This IUCN Management Category IV wildlife reserve is located in the interior of Talaud Island and encompasses an area of 246 km? (WDPA 2016); however, the species is primarily associated with coastal areas, so whether or not the reserve offers habitat for the species is unclear. Given that little more data are available now than there were in 1985, it is vital that surveys for this species are carried out to establish its range extent more fully and to assess population status as well as habitat requirements and whether the species may persist in secondary vegetation. Such surveys were already recommended in the Swallowtail Action Plan in 1991 as part of improved integration of swallowtails not national conservation planning in Indonesia (New and Collins 1991). (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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Riley, J. 2002. Mammals on the Sangihe and Talaud Islands, Indonesia, and the impact of hunting and habitat loss. Oryx 36(3): 288?296.
  • Shekelle, M. and Salim, A. 2009. An acute conservation threat to two tarsier species in the Sangihe Island chain, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Oryx 43: 419-426.
  • Shekelle, M. and Salim, A. 2011. Tarsius sangirensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011: e.T21493A9289573.
  • 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.
  • Vane-Wright, R. I., and de Jong, R. 2003. The butterflies of Sulawesi: annotated checklist for a critical island fauna. Zoologische Verhandelingen 343: 1-267.
  • Vane-Wright, R.I. and de Jong, R. 2003. The butterflies of Sulawesi: annotated checklist for a critical island fauna. Zoologische Verhandelingen 343: 1-267.
  • Wambi, D. 1996. Birds, bugs and butterflies. New Guinea Insight 6: 5-9.
  • WDPA. 2016. Database on Protected Areas. A database online managed by UNEP-WCMC/IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA). Available at: http://www.unep-wcmc.org/wdpa/index.htm.

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