Malesian Butterflies
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Malesian Butterflies
Ornithoptera meridionalis Rothschild, 1897

CONSERVATION

IUCN Redlist category
Near Threatened (IUCN 2020)

Rationale for redlist categorization
Ornithoptera meridionalis has been assessed as Near Threatened. This species is widely distributed across New Guinea, both found in the Indonesian and Papua New Guinean parts of the island. Its estimated extent of occurrence is in excess of 300,000 km?, while its area of occupancy, based on locality records obtained from spatial data and GBIF, is at least 88 km? and probably considerably larger than this. The relatively localised threat of logging is likely to divide the range of this species into more than ten localities (for example, in Papua New Guinea, the species has been reported from at least seven localised populations (Parsons 1999)), and while there appears to be some loss in forest habitat, there are very few available data on the extent of logging in the species' habitat. However, there is also very little information about the species' occurrence in protected areas, and the species is generally not ranging far, suggesting distinct pockets of subpopulations between which there may be relatively little movement. However, populations can be locally common, suggesting that subpopulations are viable in the absence of excessive movement between subpopulations. Thus the species is unlikely to be severely fragmented. However, a small area of occupancy (of less than 2,000 km?), uncertainty about the range of the species within protected areas and the fact that logging does occur in parts of its range, especially given its general restriction to lowland forest, we suggest there may be some continuing decline in area and quality of available habitat, resulting in the listing of Near Threatened. (IUCN 2020)

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

Cause of stress
Intentional use (species is the target) (IUCN 2020)

Described Threats
Because this species occurs in lowland forest, parts of its range are easily accessible for logging operations, which present the main threat to this species (Collins and Morris 1985). Threats appear to be more pronounced in Papua New Guinea compared to Indonesian Papua, although this information was derived during the 1980s (Pasternak 1981, Parsons 1983): at the time, inaccessibility of the localities in Indonesian Papua and lack of human settlement was reported as reducing pressures on this species. Habitat destruction and habitat change were considered serious threats to the Papua New Guinea populations in 1985, when the species was assessed as Vulnerable, due to the easy accessibility of the low lying localities (Collins and Morris 1985). Specifically localities in the vicinity of Port Moresby were considered threatened by habitat loss. It was noted by Haugum and Low (1979) though that: "Some parts of the distribution... in Southeast Papua were threatened by deforestation some years back, but through cooperation with the Department of Forestry, many of the scanty larval food plants were successfully removed from the areas to be cultivated... and were resettled in nearby areas which remained unharmed by advancing cultivation". Data by Global Forest Watch on forest loss since 2001 (Hansen et al. 2013) show some forest loss in the range of the western population in Indonesian Papua, around Nabire, near the Kiunga locality in Papua New Guinea, and in some areas within the southeastern part of the species' distribution in Papua New Guinea.
This species features in the species trade. 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). As a result, all Ornithoptera are listed on CITES Appendix II, with the exception of Ornithoptera alexandrae which is listed on CITES Appendix I. In 1985, no significant threat was attributed to collection and trade of specimen, despite the species being one of the most valuable Ornithoptera species. Trade from Irian Jaya has been traditionally absent or low prior to the assessment in 1985, given that the species was so little known in the area until then (Collins and Morris 1985). Today, most specimen come from 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). 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. A relatively high proportion of traded individuals in Papua New Guinea is also taken from the wild (CITES 2015). (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). This species is listed with all other birdwings on CITES Appendix II ( Ornithoptera, Trogonoptera and Troides , with the exception of O. alexandrae which is listed on Appendix I). Most specimens exported from Indonesia are traded from ranched populations, with overall ca. 6,500 of the reported ca. 7,000 specimens exported from Indonesia between 2000 and 2015 originating from ranched individuals (CITES 2015). Similarly, most specimens exported from Papua New Guinea are traded from ranched populations, with nearly all of the ca. 1,300 specimens exported from Papua New Guinea between 2000 and 2015 originating from ranched individuals, with only very few records of wild-caught individuals (CITES 2015).This is in agreement with previous trends from the range countries between 1987 and 2005, where ranched individuals were the most common source of traded individuals (UNEP-WCMC 2007). (IUCN 2020)

Applied conservation actions
This species is fully protected in Papua New Guinea (D'Abrera 1971, Collins and Morris 1985). It was not protected in Indonesia at the time of the 1985 swallowtail butterfly assessment (Collins and Morris 1985), nor at the time of a review of traded Indonesian birdwings by UNEP-WCMC in 2014. The species distribution was reported to occur outside protected or proposed reserves in West Papua, with the exception of the proposed Weyland Mountains Nature Reserve Area (Collins and Morris, 1985). This species was a priority species for conservation projects in New and Collins' (1991) action plan for the world's swallowtail butterflies, due to its indeterminate status at the time. This suggested specifically the integration of swallowtails into conservation planning in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and reserves in Papua New Guinea which would specifically be aimed at preserving this species (suggested reserves at Frieda River, Lake Kutubu, Cape Rodney, Mamai Plantation, and Brown and Vanapa Rivers; New and Collins 1991). The current extent of protection within national parks and other protected areas for this species is unclear (UNEP-WCMC 2014). There are a number of protected areas within the range of the butterfly, but it is unknown whether the species occurs within them (WDPA 2013). The species is also included in CITES Appendix II, together with all other Ornithoptera species (with the exception of Ornithoptera alexandrae , which is listed on Appendix I). There is a need for more data on this species, specifically with regard to the status and trends of its population and the impact that threats may have on the species. (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.
  • D'Abrera, B. 1971. Butterflies of the Australian Region. Lansdowne Press, Melbourne.
  • 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. 1999. The butterflies of Papua New Guinea: their systematics and biology. Academic Press., London.
  • Parsons, M.J. 1983. A conservation study of the birdwing butterflies Ornithoptera and Troides (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in Papua New Guinea. Final report to the Department of Primary Industry, Papua New Guinea.
  • 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.
  • Pasternak, J. 1981. On the rediscovery of Ornithoptera meridionalis tarunggarensis Joicey & Talbot in a new locality in Kamrau Bay, south-west Irian Jaya, Indonesia. Transactions ofthe Himeji Natural History Association 1981: 2-14.
  • 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. 2007. Review of trade in ranched birdwing butterflies. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge.
  • UNEP-WCMC. 2014. Review of Birdwing Butterflies from Indonesia. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge.
  • Wambi, D. 1996. Birds, bugs and butterflies. New Guinea Insight 6: 5-9.
  • WDPA. 2013. World database of Protected Areas. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.

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