BIODIVERSITAS ISSN: 1412-033X Volume 17, Number 2, October 2016 E-ISSN: 2085-4722 Pages: 823-831 DOI: 10.13057/biodiv/d170260 Handicraft of butterflies and moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park and its implications on conservation INDRA A.S.L.P. PUTRI♥ Environment and Forestry Research and Development Institute of Makassar. Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan Km 16, PO BOX 1560, Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan 90243. Tel. +62-411-554049, Fax. +62-411-554058, ♥email: [email protected] Manuscript received: 19 November 2015. Revision accepted: 15 October 2016. Abstract. Putri IASLP. 2016 Handicraft of butterflies and moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park and its implications on conservation. Biodiversitas 17: 823-831. The abundance of butterflies in Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park of Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, South Sulawesi, Indonesia provides economic benefits to the community through butterfly’s handicrafts trading. This study aims to determine local species of commodified butterfly that are traded in various forms of craft and its implications for the conservation of butterflies. The study was conducted through the direct identification of butterfly species which are sold as crafts or deposited directly by the catchers to collectors. Data of commodified butterfly were collected using direct interviews. Data were analyzed by descriptive quantitative and qualitative. The results showed that there are 142 species of butterfly which are traded in the period of 2010-2015. The seller participants on butterfly handicrafts consist of the butterfly catchers, middlemen, craftsmen, stall employee, stall employers, and street vendors. The buyer participants consist of local tourists, tourists from outside district/province, traders from outside district/province, buyers from overseas and scientists or butterfly collectors. The butterfly price range was in between Rp. 500.00-Rp. 150,000.00/head at collectors’ level. The butterfly selling prices increased up to Rp. 7,500.00-Rp. 1,000,000.00 when they were processed into various souvenirs forms. Considering that there were so many traded butterfly souvenirs in the market, it raised an impression that there were more butterflies trapped for souvenir than free-living butterfly escaped from the trap. Commodification of butterflies needs to be regulated by setting the butterflies harvesting quota based on population in nature, sex, season and age (especially for female butterfly), accompanied by socializing rules of law, increasing public awareness about the importance of conservation butterflies, and creating new jobs for the people who depend on the butterflies trading. Keywords: Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park, butterfly and moth, handicrafts, tourism, trade INTRODUCTION NP, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Butterfly (Insecta: Lepidoptera) is the most popular insect (and New Sands 2013) and most beautiful (Wagner MATERIALS AND METHODS et al. 2008; Rau 2013) in the world. Butterfly is also the most familiar insect for human (Davis and Butler 2008), Study area ranging from children to adults. Butterfly has long become The study was conducted at the butterfly trade center in an insect that gives economic benefits for society (Ramana Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park of Bantimurung- 2010; Boppre and Vane-Wright 2012). Several species of Bulusaraung National Park, Maros, South Sulawesi, butterfly, such as bird wings butterfly (Sands and New in Indonesia (Figure 1). Observation on the local species of 2013), are the most wanted butterfly by collectors and are butterfly which are traded in 2010-2015 was done first. traded at a high price because it has large wings with Gathering information on the price at the butterfly catchers beautiful, colorful and interesting pattern. and middlemen was based on recent data collected in In the forest having butterfly richness, such as August 2015. Bantimurung Nature Recreation Park (Bantimurung NRP or Taman Wisata Alam Bantimurung) and its surrounding Procedures areas inside the area of the Bantimurung-Bulusaraung Data retrieval on butterfly species that are traded was National Park (Babul NP), the butterfly is widely used as a done by direct identification of butterfly species which are source of income for the local community, particularly sold in various forms of handicrafts at stalls in through butterfly trading. Various forms of handicrafts of Bantimurung NRP. Identification is also done on butterflies butterfly can be found to be sold at souvenir stalls deposited by the butterfly catcher to middlemen or alongside the entrance to this tourism place. The role of craftsmen. Photograph is taken on handicrafts of butterfly butterfly in the tourism industry in Bantimurung was very which species is difficult to be identified, and it is used in interesting to be analyzed, so the study was conducted in observation and further identification using identification order to determine the species of local butterfly traded in books namely Tsukada and Nishiyama (1982, 1981, 1985, various forms of handicrafts and its implications for the 1991), Vane-Wright and de Jong (2003), Cassidy (1995), conservation of butterflies in Bantimurung NRP of Babul and Peggie and Amir (2006). In addition, the photos of 824 BIODIVERSITAS 17 (2): 823-831, October 2016 crafted butterfly were also identified by matching butterfly Data analysis species on it with the result of identification that have been Analysis of data on traded species of butterflies is a done before in the Research Center for Biology, Indonesian descriptive quantitative, namely describing the number of Institute of Sciences (LIPI), Cibinong-Bogor, West Java, traded species of butterfly, the number of species in each Indonesia. Initial identification on butterfly handicraft family, as well as forms of crafts made from any species of market is done by a survey method. Once market butterfly. Data taken from interview with butterfly participants are identified, data collection regarding the catchers, butterfly middlemen, craft makers, and traders commodification of butterflies into the handicraft by were analyzed descriptively and qualitatively (Creswell et traders used interviews method (Dawson 2010; Turner al. 2007; Vaismoradi et al. 2013; Richard 2015). 2010), both semi-structured (Laforest et al. 2009), to the merchant of butterfly craft, or in-depth interviews (DiCicco-Bloom and Crabtree 2006; Guion et al. 2011), to middlemen and butterfly catchers. Respondent selection of RESULTS AND DISCUSSION butterfly catchers was conducted with accidental sampling method (Pereira et al. 2005), namely doing a direct There are about 142 local species of butterflies and interview to a butterfly catcher who coincidentally are moths (Order Lepidoptera) from seven families catching butterflies in the forest. Respondents selection of (Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, butterflies middlemen is done by snowball sampling Pieridae, Riodinidae, and Saturniidae) which were used as method (Pereira et al. 2005) that is based on information materials for butterfly handicrafts in the butterfly trade from key informants about the people who work as center of Bantimurung NRP-Babul National Parks. Species collectors of butterflies. Respondents selection of butterfly of butterflies which are most widely used as a craft comes merchants is by picking up randomly the merchants who from the family of Nymphalidae (86 species), Papilionidae are selling their stuffs in stalls. Topics of interview were (23 species), and Pieridae (23 species) (Table 1). the selling price of butterflies, the newly caught butterflies and the crafted butterflies. Figure 1. Location of the study at butterfly trade center of Bantimurung NRP of Babul NP, South Sulawesi, Indonesia PUTRI – Butterflies and moths of Bantimurung, Indonesia 825 Table 1. Species of local butterflies traded at the butterfly trade center Bantimurung NRP of Babul NP, South Sulawesi, Indonesia Item price at the Scientific name Family level of the Form of craft middlemen (Rp.) Tagiades sp. Hesperiidae 500 Key chains Arhopala irregularis Lycaenidae 1,000 Key chains, frame Arhopala argentea Lycaenidae 1,000 Key chains, frame Curetis sp. Lycaenidae 2,000 Bracelet, necklace Deudorix sp. Lycaenidae 2,000 Bracelet, necklace Jamides sp. Lycaenidae 2,000 Bracelet, necklace Rapala sp. Lycaenidae 2,000 Bracelet, necklace Tajuria sp. Lycaenidae 2,000 Bracelet, necklace Acraea moluccana Nymphalidae 1,000 Key chains Amathusia sp. Nymphalidae 3,000 Key chains, frame Amathuxidia plateni Nymphalidae 3,000 Key chains, frame Bassarona labotas Nymphalidae 1,000 Key chains, frame Bletogona mycalesis Nymphalidae 1,000 Key chains, frame Cethosia biblis Nymphalidae 5,000 Triangular envelope, frame Cethosia myrina* Nymphalidae 5,000 Triangular envelope, frame Charaxes affinis Nymphalidae 1,000 preserved butterfly in triangular envelope or wrapped in a plastic, key chains, frame Charaxes nitebis Nymphalidae 1,000 Preserved butterfly in triangular envelope or wrapped in a plastic, key chains, frame Charaxes solon Nymphalidae 1,000 Preserved butterfly in triangular envelope or wrapped in a plastic, key chains, frame Chersonesia rahria Nymphalidae 1,000 Preserved butterfly in triangular envelope or wrapped in a plastic, key chains, frame Cirrochroa semiramis Nymphalidae 1,000 Preserved butterfly in triangular envelope or wrapped in a plastic, key chains, frame Cirrochroa thule Nymphalidae 1,000 Preserved butterfly in triangular envelope or wrapped in a plastic,