A guidebook on Papua's butterflies

A guidebook on Papua's butterflies

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

We have seen butterflies since our childhood, but most of us would be unable to identify those exquisite insects.

Dutchman Henk van Mastrigt is an exception. From 1974 until today, he has been observing, collecting and identifying butterflies (lepidoptera).

Mastrigt conducted the observation in the hard terrain of northeast Papua -- from the Mamberamo area to the Cyclops mountains.

The more significant observations were conducted in the Mamberamo areas of Dabra (2000), Marina Valen (2004), in Sarmi's Kumamba Islands (2002), the east coast of Wakde, Masi-masi, Yamma and Podena (2001), on the slopes of the Cyclops mountains (2000) and Ubrub (2003).

With the help of his student Edy Rosariyanto, Conservation International Indonesia and Papua Conservation Fund, Mastrigt documented his work in a book titled Buku Panduan Lapangan Kupu- kupu untuk Wilayah Mamberamo Sampai Pegunungan Cyclops (A Guidebook on Butterflies in Mamberamo and Cyclops Mountains).

This book is not scientific, but it provides quite detailed information on the species of butterflies found in Mamberamo and Cyclops mountains.

After about three decades of observation, Mastrigt -- who is more popularly known as Bruder Henk -- stated that there are nearly 350 species of butterflies in Jayapura alone and 900 species across Papua.

The book consists of three sections. The first section on general information comprises three chapters: general information, knowing butterflies and a description of the geographic area.

The second section is a short description of the world's fauna distribution.

The third section provides color pictures of various butterflies in Papua.

This book is a valuable guide for the public, students or travelers who love watching butterflies. They can bring this book as a handy reference while traveling in Papua.

This book is not designed to identify butterflies. People can refer to other literature for that purpose, such as: Butterflies of the Indo-Australian Region by D'abrera (1990) and The Butterflies of Papua New Guinea by Parsons (1999).

According to Mastrigt, the book will help people to understand butterflies better. Through better understanding, people will be willing to take part in the conservation effort.

Although this is the first book to cover butterflies in Mamberamo and Cyclops mountains, it does not pretend to be complete. It invites people on the field to share any information they may have to supplement the information contained in the book.

The book attempts to cover areas in Mamberamo and in Cyclops mountains, however not all places in this zone are accessible.

For Mastrigt, the publication of this book is an effort to seek partners who will adopt the mission to conserve butterflies and the environment of Papua, which is four times the size of Java.

Mastrigt says he hopes further research on the location can be made to improve documentation.

A Guidebook on Butterflies in the area of Mamberamo and Cyclops Mountains
By Henk van Mastrigt and Edy Rosariyanto
Conservation International Indonesia
146 pp