Biologi Troides helena helena dan Troides helena hephaestus (Papilionidae) di Penangkaran

Abstract

Troides helena is one of butterflies favored by collectors due to its large size and beautiful color of its wings. T. helena of Indonesia is protected by laws and recorded in Appendix II CITES. The trade has to be drawn from domestication sites. T. h. helena and T. h. hephaestus are subspecies of T. helena restrictedly distributed in Indonesia. The domestication has to be socialized for conservation of T. helena in Indonesia. The research were aimed to study domestication technique and biology of T. h. helena and T. h. hephaestus. Pupae of T. h. helena were obtained from Cilember (West Java) and T.h. hephaestus were from Bantimurung (South Sulawesi). Both larvae were fed by Aristolochia tagala leaves. Egg, larvae, and pupae were treated at the laboratory and imago were treated in the domestication dome of IPB. Results indicated that domestication was run well. A life cycle of T. h. helena from egg to imago was about 70 days, while T. h. hephaestus was 64 days. Lowest survival of T. h. helena occured at the egg stage, on the other hand, in T. h. hephaestus occured at the stages of pupae and imago. Sex ratio of male to female was 2:3 for T. h. helena and 5:6 for T. h. hephaestus. In average, egg production of T. h. helena and T. h. hephaestus was 100 eggs. Predators (house lizard, lizard, and spider) were one of the limiting factor for butterfly development.