SURVEY OF HESPERIIDS FOUND ON <em>CALAMUS</em> <em>MANAN</em> IN A NATURAL FOREST AND THREE TYPES OF PLANTATION

Abstract

In order to create a database for future pest problems, the insect fauna of Calamus manan were studied in a natural forest and three types of plantation: a small village plantation, a trial plantation under timber trees and C. manan planted under rubber. Four species of hesperiids occurred regularly in low densities in all but the village plantations: Salanoemia sola, Quedara monteithi, Erionota torus and Gangara thyrsis. Their abundance was of the same magnitude in all these plantations, and only minor variations occurred over the nine months of observation. The number of tagged plants in the village plantation was probably too low to find E. torus and G. thyrsis, although the former was found once on an unmarked plant. In contrast, no hesperiids at all were found in the natural forest plot, with feeding marks of Q. monteithi and one encounter of S. salao utside the plot indicating that the species were principally present. A fifth species, Lotongus calathus, was found only in one plot (the trial forest plantation plot). After three months of absence, it was found restricted to a few plants, but in large numbers, showing its high potential as a pest.