Species Diversity and Time of Occurrence of Butterflies At Various Observation Points in The Educational Forest-Universitas Hasanuddin

Wildlife diversity is one of the essential assets of national development and has become major tourist attractions in Indonesia for nature-based tourism. South Sulawesi was once famous for its kingdom of butterflies located in Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, Maros Regency. Here, the butterflies have long been known as one of tourism objects and had positive contribution toward community’s prosperity and well-being in the area. This study aims to determine the diversity of butterfly species and the time of their occurrences in the educational forest of Universitas Hasanuddin adjacent to the National Park. This can be used further to develop potential wildlife ecotourism in the area through butterfly observation. This study was carried out through field observation on five observation points (Mahoni dormitory area, outbound field, Sylva field, Bidadari pond, and Trigona honey bee captivity area) in the Educational Forest of Universitas Hasanuddin. To identify the species of butterflies, butterfly samples were collected by using sweep net. Time and abundance of each species were recorded. Based on the observations, number of total butterfly’s species recorded was 41 species belonging to four families (Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, and Lycaenidae). The highest number of species was spotted around Bidadari Pond with 31 species recorded. The species frequently occurred in various points were Papilio gigon, Graphium milon, Faunis manado, Ideopsis vitrea, Melanitis leda, Neptis ida, Eurema hecabe and Catopsilia pomona. High frequencies of occurrences in most observation points were between 08:00 to 11:50 am and between 14:00 to 15:50 pm. The most common types of butterflies were found at the Telaga Bidadari observation point with a total of 31 species, while the least number was found at the Outbound Field observation point (20 species).