Diversity and Abundance of Butterflies (Rhopalocera) in Three Habitat Types in the Tunan Waterfall Area, North Minahasa Regency, North Sulawesi

Abstrak

Butterflies (Rhopalocera) are important ecological components because they function as pollinators, parts of food webs, and bioindicators of habitat quality. Baseline data on butterfly diversity in the Tunan Waterfall tourism area are not yet available, although this landscape contains heterogeneous habitats and increasing human disturbance. This study aimed to identify butterfly species and analyze their abundance, diversity, richness, and evenness across three habitat types, namely the waterfall trail, plantation, and riverbank. Sampling was conducted using the line-transect method in three habitat types, each represented by three transects of 300 m. Observations were carried out from 08.00 to 15.00 WITA for six sampling days using sweep nets, accompanied by records of plants visited by butterflies. A total of 22 species from 4 families and 287 individuals were recorded. The most abundant species were Parthenos sylvia (103 individuals) and Ideopsis vitrea (33 individuals). The plantation habitat showed the highest abundance and diversity index, with 115 individuals and 2.22, whereas the riverbank habitat had the highest richness index of 3.83. The highest evenness index was also recorded in the plantation habitat (0.80). These findings indicate that vegetation heterogeneity and the availability of floral resources in more open habitats likely play an important role in shaping butterfly community structure in the Tunan Waterfall area.