Reared caterpillars (Lepidoptera) from lower montane rainforest in Chimbu, Papua New Guinea

Study Extent

Four Ficus species sampled in the montane study area from June 2001 to July 2002. Sampling effort varied from 500 m2 (F. wassa and F. dammaropsis) to 700 m2 (F. iodotricha) and 1300 m2 (F. copiosa) of foliage per species. The sampling effort was standardized to 500 m2 for all species by random removal of individual samples for comparative analyses. Note- this study also used data from separate lowland sampling. Specifically, Twenty-one Ficus species including 19 forest and two seacoast species were sampled in the lowland study for 1 year between 1994 and 2000 with sampling effort 1500 m2 of foliage per species. Two 1-year samples were obtained for Ficus wassa, one from 1994 to 1995 with sampling effort of 1500 m2 of foliage and another from 1999 to 2000 with sampling effort 10,500 m2 of foliage.

Sampling

All externally feeding caterpillars, including leaf rollers and leaf tiers, were collected by hand from the foliage of target trees in both secondary and primary forests. At each sampling occasion, a collector spent 1 day walking throughout the study area and searching the foliage of the target tree species for caterpillars. The sampling included accessible branches from the forest canopy and understorey, which could be climbed or reached from the ground, and included most of the habitat for folivorous herbivores on the study trees. The approximate area of the foliage sampled was estimated visually and recorded.

Method steps

1. Full details can be found- Novotny, Vojtech, et al. "An altitudinal comparison of caterpillar (Lepidoptera) assemblages on Ficus trees in Papua New Guinea." Journal of Biogeography 32.8 (2005): 1303-1314.

This dataset comprises larval Lepidoptera

1. Lepidoptera
   common name: Caterpillar rank: order

The Kundiawa area, Chimbu Province contains lower montane forest and has a lower montane humid climate with a mild dry season from June to August.