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Science, Marine and Environment

BUTTERFLY COMMUNITIES (INSECTA: LEPIDOPTERA) AT TWO RECREATIONAL
AREAS IN SUNGAI PETANI, KEDAH

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Nur Izzah Athirah Basri , Nurulhuda Zakaria *
Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu,
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21030 Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, Malaysia.
*Corresponding author: nurul_huda@umt.edu.my

In Peninsular Malaysia, there are 1,182 species of butterflies have been recorded so far.
However, the knowledge on the butterfly diversity in various habitats especially in Kedah
is still scarce. A study was conducted to determine and compare the diversity of
STUDENT RESEARCH DAY 2021 a total of three sampling occasions per site. Visual Encounter Survey (VES) was used STUDENT RESEARCH DAY 2021
butterflies at two recreational areas in Sungai Petani, Kedah namely Bukit H and Taman
Jubli Perak. This study was carried out starting from January 2021 until March 2021 with

v
as a sampling method. The butterflies were captured using a sweep net from 10am to
1pm for each sampling site. A total of 145 individuals from 13 species from four families
of butterflies were recorded. The most abundant species was recorded from the family
Nymphalidae. Chilades pandava was the most abundant species obtained from two
recreational areas. From the t-test analysis, there was no significant different between
the diversity of Bukit H and Taman Jubli Perak. Shannon and Simpson diversity indices
showed that both sites were interpreted as very low in diversity. This may be due to the
lack of sampling effort which was restrained by the Movement Control Order (MCO). This
study will contribute to the first record of butterflies in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

Keyword: Butterfly, diversity, insect, northern Peninsular Malaysia, VES.

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