Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM)

The butterflies were trapped in baited traps (Sutherland, 2006; DeVries, 1987) consisting of a 65 cm long cylinders of black nylon mesh with a diameter of 30 cm. A 35 cm plastic plate used for baiting were placed approximately 3 cm below the cylinder. The traps were placed along the length of each site, at one third and two third of the total length. Following Tangah et al. (2004) the traps were attached to branches, approximately 2 m above the ground level. A total of 60 bait traps, two traps within each tree-fall gap and two in the associated understory were used, resulting in 15 pairs. The trapping period, for five consecutive days per week, started at the beginning of July and ended at the end of October 2009, covering 13 weeks.

Each trap was baited with one overripe banana and some drops of vanilla extract. We trapped. The bait was enclosed within a metal mesh to reduce predation by other species but still allowing the butterfly’s proboscis free access. Each trap was re-baited every second day, and the bait was left in the trap for the rest of the study, which ensured that all traps contained a mixture from overripe to well-rotten bait.

All butterflies were identified to species if possible, following the nomenclature and classification from Lamas (2004).