Ecology of ragadia makuta (lepidoptera: satyrinae) in tropical rainforests of Sabah, Malaysia.

The satyrid butterfly Ragadia makuta Horsfield was studied in lowland dipterocarp rainforest in Sabah, Borneo. Data were collected monthly from March 1999 to February 2000 in two habitat types, unlogged forest and forest that had been selectively logged 10 to 11 years previously. THe primary aim was to investigate the effects of selective logging on R. makuta abundance and distribution. Transect walk-and-count and point sampling techniques were used to record satyrinae, morphinae and riodinidae butterflies plus one species of Danaidae (Idea stolli). Butterflies were sampled at 80 observation stations along 8 km of transects in logged and unlogged forests. Measurements of vegetation structure showed that effects of logging were still evident 10 years after logging. Logged forests had lower canopy and understorey cover and fewer large trees but a larger proportion of pioneer Macarangga spp. compared with unlogged forest. R. makuta abundance was not affected by selective logging. Habitat requirements of R. makuta were investigated and in both unlogged and logged forests, R. makuta was more abundant in areas with greater cover of its larval host plant (Selegenella spp). There was some evidence for R. makuta changing its habitat requirements from unlogged forest to logged forest but these changes were relatively small. The distribution and abundance of R. makuta varied from month to month in relation to rainfall. Rainfall one month before surveys was negatively correlated with R. Makuta abundance. This indicates that rainfall may affect adult abundance through its impacts on larval development and survival. The use of R. Makuta as biodiversity indicator for other butterflies was examined. R. makuta abundance was positively correlated with diversity of other satyrid and rionidid butterflies. This suggested that R. makuta could be used as indicator of other understorey butterflies and that R. Makuta may be an important tool for conservation studies

Diversity and abundance of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Universiti Malaysia Sabah Campus, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

A study on the abundance and diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) was carried out in University Malaysia Sabah (UMS). The study was conducted (i) to observe the diversity of mosquitoes in UMS, (ii) to compare the abundance of mosquitoes in study sites, (iii) to observe the interactions of abiotic factors such as time and temperature and (iv) to observe the mosquitoes’ breeding sites. The samplings were done for 16 days for indoor and outdoor by using bare leg capture method and were done for 12 hours on every sampling day. Temperature was recorded every hour within 1800 until 0600. A total of four genera and 11 species of mosquitoes were recorded from the samplings. The highest abundance recorded were Culex annulirostris, Culex sitiens, Culex pipiens, Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Aedes albopictus. Hostel A-B recorded seven species, Hostel C-D recorded six species, Hostel E recorded six species, library’s cafe recorded six species and library’s lake recorded seven species. The dominant species at each study site were Culex annulirostris, Culex sitiens, Culex pipiens and Culex tritaeniorhynchus

Solitary Fireflies of Kangkawat Research Station, Imbak Canyon, Sabah

A survey on solitary fireflies was carried out at Kangkawat Research Station in October 2018. A total of 33 fireflies were collected; three adult males, 13 adult females and 17 larvae. Three fireflies species were identified from male specimens, namely Pygoluciola wittmeri, Luciola sp. and most larvae consists of Pyrocoelia sp. This is a new record, mapping the existence of the species in Imbak, hence expanding the geographical knowledge of Pygoluciola, Luciola and Pyrocoelia. There are five morphospecies of unidentified females and three morphospecies of larvae. Three videos of larvae showed an emission of a long glow while the adult female in captivity exhibited single-peaked pulsing light. Male flashes were observed to emit long glows with intermittent rest. Most adult fireflies were caught flying between trees while larvae were found among twigs, leaf litter and leaves

Evaluation of tourists satisfaction towards firefly industry in Sabah using importance-performance analysis model

This paper focuses on the human dimensions of the firefly watching experience in Sabah with the using of Importance-performance analysis (IPA). The objectives are to investigate the motivations of tourists participating in firefly tours and to assess tourist’s satisfaction with the environmental and tour services offered in Sabah using IPA analysis. The methods included site-based distribution of questionnaire to firefly tour participants at several firefly-watching sites in Sabah. Next, the importanceperformance analysis was performed using the importance and satisfaction mean scores. The IPA analysis identified 10 environmental and tour features of management concern. Overall, respondents were very satisfied with the tourism industry in Sabah stating that they would recommend the tour (88.6%) to others. Most participants were very satisfied with the interest in firefly (78.8%), proximity to fireflies (55.92%) and the number of fireflies seen (54.29%). As conclusion, this study provides a greater understanding of tourist’s motivation and satisfaction towards the firefly-watching industry in Sabah with the assist of Importance-performance analysis model

The Seasonal Monsoon Variations and The Climatic Effects on The Abundance of Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) At Klias River, Beaufort, Sabah, East Malaysia

Understanding the pattern of firefly abundance in an area is useful in minimizing visitors' impact on firefly populations and enhancing the quality of the firefly experience for all visitors. Implementing strategic protection guidelines greatly helps conserve species population and the chances of bioluminescent courtship behaviour in the firefly population. Klias River in Sabah, Malaysia has been listed among the top sites featuring congregating fireflies in Southeast Asia. In this study, the abundance of congregating fireflies was studied from 2006 to 2007, during the transitional monsoon (phase 1) and the northeast monsoon (phase 2) at Klias River. A total of 155 display tree stations were sampled by using a two-minute sweep netting technique, resulting in a total of 5,368 individual fireflies collected from both phases. Five species of fireflies from two genera i.e Pteroptyx and Luciola were recorded namely Pteroptyx tener (91.30%), Pteroptyx malaccae (8.53%), Pteroptyx valida, Luciola sp. 1 and Luciola sp. 2. The number of males was higher than the females in a ratio of ±7:3 on each sampling occasion. Mann-Whitney analysis [U(n=12)=34, P0.05]. The abundance of the firefly community was significantly different from the two sampling phases [U(n1=6, n2=6)=34, P<0.05)], with the northeast monsoon season (phase 2) presenting a higher abundance of congregating fireflies. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that the mean of climate parameters i.e relative humidity (±82.52%; P=0.779; r= -0.091), rainfall (±3.84 mm; P=0.210; r=0.390), and temperature (±27.34℃; P=0.557; r=0.189) were significantly but weakly correlated with the mean of firefly abundance from the whole sampling sessions. Twelve display tree species were recorded, namely, Excoecaria indica, Heriteria littoralis, Cerbera odolam, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Ficus benjamina, Sonneratia alba, Rhizophora apiculata, Nypa fruticans, Hernandia nymphacifolia, Barringtonia racemosa, Acrostichum sp. and Acacia magnum. Heriteria littoralis (n=83) was the highest in frequency used as the display trees, but the firefly abundance was higher on Excoecaria indica (n=32) with 42% of abundance tendencies. The survival of congregating firefly species population is interconnected with the existence of certain species of mangrove trees. Identifying these display trees is important to support the protection of the natural mangrove ecosystem and the conservation of mangrove swamp tree species

Mosquito diversity between logged and unlogged forest areas in Kalabakan Forest Reserve, Sabah

Mosquitoes were sampled in an undisturbed area within the trail in the forest near the Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA) and in a disturbed area within the Logged Forest Experimental (LFE) area near the SAFE Project camp site. A total of 48 days of sampling was done in both areas in a bi-monthly sampling starting June 2016 to April 2017. The aims of this study were to investigate the species diversity and peak biting hours of mosquitoes in both sites. A total of 807 individuals from 17 species were caught using manual collection method of Human Landing Catch (HLC). 15 species were collected in MBCA while only 9 species were collected in LFE. Based on Generalized Linear Mixed Model (GLMM), there was a significant difference of mosquito abundance between LFE and MBCA (p<0.05) and mosquito day biting time (p<0.05). Also, based on Independent T-test analysis, there was a significance difference in terms of mosquito diversity level and abundance (p<0.05). In this study, LFE had higher mosquito abundance with a total of 563 mosquito individuals caught compared to MBCA with 244 mosquito individuals. In both areas, more species were recorded during day time samplings than night time samplings. Anopheles balabacensis, Aedes albopictus, Heizmannia scintillans and Culex vishnui were among the predominant species collected in LFE while in MBCA species collected were Heizmannia scintillans, Anopheles umbrosus, Aedes albopictus and Armigeres jugraensis. LFE had peak biting hours around 2:00 p.m., 5:00 p.m., 7.00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. while for MBCA, the peak biting hours were between 2:00 - 3:00 p.m. and 6.00 p.m

The seasonal monsoon variations and the climatic effects on the abundance of fireflies (COLEOPTERA: LAMPYRIDAE) at Klias River, Beaufort, Sabah, East Malaysia

Understanding the pattern of firefly abundance in an area is useful in minimizing visitors' impact on firefly populations and enhancing the quality of the firefly experience for all visitors. Implementing strategic protection guidelines greatly helps conserve species population and the chances of bioluminescent courtship behaviour in the firefly population. Klias River in Sabah, Malaysia has been listed among the top sites featuring congregating fireflies in Southeast Asia. In this study, the abundance of congregating fireflies was studied from 2006 to 2007, during the transitional monsoon (phase 1) and the northeast monsoon (phase 2) at Klias River. A total of 155 display tree stations were sampled by using a two-minute sweep netting technique, resulting in a total of 5,368 individual fireflies collected from both phases. Five species of fireflies from two genera i.e Pteroptyx and Luciola were recorded namely Pteroptyx tener (91.30%), Pteroptyx malaccae (8.53%), Pteroptyx valida, Luciola sp. 1 and Luciola sp. 2. The number of males was higher than the females in a ratio of ±7:3 on each sampling occasion. Mann-Whitney analysis [U(n=12)=34, P<0.05] indicated that the abundance of male fireflies during phase 2 was significantly higher, while the abundance of females was not significantly different in both phases [U(n=12)=24, P>0.05]. The abundance of the firefly community was significantly different from the two sampling phases [U(n1=6, n2=6)=34, P<0.05)], with the northeast monsoon season (phase 2) presenting a higher abundance of congregating fireflies. Spearman’s correlation analysis showed that the mean of climate parameters i.e relative humidity (±82.52%; P=0.779; r= -0.091), rainfall (±3.84 mm; P=0.210; r=0.390), and temperature (±27.34℃; P=0.557; r=0.189) were significantly but weakly correlated with the mean of firefly abundance from the whole sampling sessions. Twelve display tree species were recorded, namely, Excoecaria indica, Heriteria littoralis, Cerbera odolam, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Ficus benjamina, Sonneratia alba, Rhizophora apiculata, Nypa fruticans, Hernandia nymphacifolia, Barringtonia racemosa, Acrostichum sp. and Acacia magnum. Heriteria littoralis (n=83) was the highest in frequency used as the display trees, but the firefly abundance was higher on Excoecaria indica (n=32) with 42% of abundance tendencies. The survival of congregating firefly species population is interconnected with the existence of certain species of mangrove trees. Identifying these display trees is important to support the protection of the natural mangrove ecosystem and the conservation of mangrove swamp tree species