UNEP-WCMC technical report Review of Birdwing Butterflies from Indonesia (Version edited for public release) Review of Birdwing butterflies from Indonesia Prepared for The European Commission, Directorate General Environment, Directorate E - Global & Regional Challenges, LIFE ENV.E.2. – Global Sustainability, Trade & Multilateral Agreements, Brussels, Belgium Published November 2014 Copyright European Commission 2014 Citation UNEP-WCMC. 2014. Review of Birdwing Butterflies from Indonesia. UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge. The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP -WCMC) is the specialist biodiversity assessment of the United Nations Environment Programme, the world’s foremost intergovernmental environmental organization. The Centre has been in operation for over 30 years, combini ng scientific research with policy advice and the development of decision tools. 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Contents Introduction and summary ............................................................................................................................... 3 Ornithoptera meridionalis II/B ........................................................................................................................ 4 Ornithoptera tithonus II/B ............................................................................................................................... 6 Troides amphrysus II/B ..................................................................................................................................... 9 ii Ornithoptera meridionalis Introduction and summary This review has been prepared to support the Scientific Review Group in assessing trade in ranched specimens of three Birdwing butterflies from Indonesia: Ornithoptera meridionalis, O. tithonus and Troides amphrysus . To aid the SRG in updating its opinions, UNEP-WCMC presented an overview of EU decisions and recent trade in Birdwing butterflies to the EU (2003-2012) from Indonesia at SRG 69. On the basis of this report, the SRG replaced a number of positive opinions for wild specimens of Birdwing butterflies with no opinion i), on account of no significant trade anticipated. The SRG also decided that current positive opinions for ranched specimens of the three species covered by this report may require reassessment. Overview of butterfly ranching: Butterfly ranching has been defined as a method “whereby unenclosed habitat patches are enriched with larval food-plants and adult nectar sources and thereby rendered superattractive, and from where specimens may be harvested by rearing from collected early stages” (New, 1994). It involves artificial manipulation of the natural density of caterpillar host-plants (typically Aristolochia and Adenia vines) within gardens or secondary growth forest to attract egg-laying females. Pupa can then be collected and placed in a cage, hatching box, glass house, or shade house, then when it hatches, the butterfly is killed (by injection of boiling water or ethyl acetate), dried in the sun and sold (Hutton, 1985; Ruskin, 1985; Parsons, 1995; Weintraub, 1995; Small, 2004). Butterflies may be reared for commercial purposes through ranching (source ‘R’) or captive-breeding (source ‘C’). In accordance with Resolution Conf. 11.16 (Rev. CoP15), ranching involves the rearing of high mortality life-stages taken from the wild to adulthood in a controlled environment. Captive breeding is more appropriate to cases where all stages of development are enclosed in a controlled environment. Ranched or captive-bred butterflies are, unlike wild-caught ones, undamaged and therefore of higher quality (Parsons, 1995). Butterfly ranching as described above is thought to minimise the impact on wild stocks of butterflies, as a proportion of the pupa (ideally, about 50 per cent) is left on the vine to repopulate the “farm”. However, it is difficult for a farmer to know how many pupae are present on the vines and thus how many should be collected (Ruskin, 1985; Hutton, 1985; Parsons, 1995; Small, 2004). Nevertheless, butterfly ranching has been widely considered to be a successful conservation tool, both for the butterflies and for their habitats (Hutton, 1985; New and Collins, 1991; Parsons, 1995; New, 1994; Weintraub, 1995; Orsak, 1993). People can participate easily in butterfly ranching because of the low capital needed, which in turn can also help to reduce destruction of primary habitat by lessening economic dependence on shifting agriculture as a result of cash being available from sales of the insects (New, 1994). Butterfly ranching can, therefore, play a vital role locally in preventing the destruction of tropical forest (Parsons, 1995). 3 Ornithoptera meridionalis INSECTA: PAPILIONIDAE Ornithoptera meridionalis II/B COMMON NAMES: Southern Tailed Birdwing (English); Ornithoptère méridional (French) RANGE STATES: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea UNDER REVIEW: Indonesia EU DECISIONS: Current positive opinion for ranched specimens from Indonesia formed on 11/02/1998, and no opinion for wild specimens formed on 15/05/2002. A no opinion (ii) was formed for ranched specimens from Papua New Guinea on 27/02/2014. IUCN: Endangered (needs updating) Taxonomic Note According to D'Abrera (2003), Ornithoptera meridionalis was previously considered to be a subspecies of O. paradisea , which it resembles. Ohya (2001, cited in Matsuka, 2001 [the CITES standard nomenclature reference for birdwing butterflies]) listed two subspecies: O. m. meridionalis and O. m. tarunggarensis. Trade patterns Direct trade in Ornithoptera meridionalis from Indonesia to the EU-28 2003-2012 mainly comprised ranched bodies for commercial purposes (700 bodies as reported imported by EU Member States) (Table 1). The principal importers were Austria and Germany. Direct trade to the rest of the world 2003-2012 mainly comprised ranched bodies, predominantly imported by Japan, the United States and Canada. Indirect trade in O. meridionalis to the EU-28 originating in Indonesia 2003-2012 consisted of small numbers of ranched bodies (56 and 24, as reported by exporters and importers respectively), all for commercial purposes; Malaysia was the main re-exporter. There were no exports of wild-sourced specimens from Indonesia 2003-2012. Indonesia has not published export quotas for ranched or captive-bred specimens of this species. Table 1: Direct exports of Ornithoptera meridionalis bodies from Indonesia to the EU-28 (EU) and the rest of the world (RoW), 2003-2012. Importer Purpose Source Reported by 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Total EU P R Importer 6 6 10 8 6 36 Exporter T C Importer 24 24 Exporter 6 6 R Importer 36 28 48 92 38 373 26 32 27 700 Exporter 80 72 68 104 100 38 96 114 115 787 RoW E R Importer 4 4 Exporter T C Importer 2 10 12 Exporter 4 4 R Importer 108 402 288 200 200 70 50 144 66 44 1572 Exporter 314 268 444 236 230 236 159 424 595 324 3230 Source: CITES Trade Database, UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK, downloaded on 22/09/2014. 4 Ornithoptera meridionalis Conservation status Ornithoptera meridionalis was reported to occur in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea on the island of New Guinea (Laithwaite et al. , 1975; Collins and Morris, 1985). Collins and Morris (1985) considered typical habitats to include primary and secondary lowland rainforests, usually at altitudes of 20-200 m. The species was reported to carry five to seven large eggs, which was considered to be a relatively low number compared to other birdwings (D’Abrera, 1975; Collins and Morris, 1985). Collins and Morris (1985) reported that the giant birdwings of New Guinea, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands generally lay no more than thirty eggs per generation. D’Abrera (2003) reported that the two subspecies occured at opposite ends of mainland New Guinea, with O. m. tarunggarensis occuring in the north of Western Irian Jaya (Papua), from Kamrau Bay to Timika and north to the Kobowre (Weyland) Mountains. Collins and Morris (1985) noted its occurrence in the area around Lake Yamur (Jamur) in the east of the Weyland Mountains. Whilst D'Abrera (2003)