| Summary: | Butterflies play important roles in ecological processes. Their key positions in ecological food chain is a valuable example. Papua, the west part of New Guinea Island, with its twelve unique ecoregions is one of the Indonesian regions that has relatively high butterfly species. Research found that more than 5000 butterfly species found in this region. Unfortunately, rapid rain forest clearance by logging companies and widely opened land for various uses such as agriculture and palm oil plantation , housing, business centres, local government buildings have brought ecological unbalance. Furthermore, this condition is now threatening the existence of endemic species and population of butterflies in Papua. Researches on the existence of endemic butterflies in these twelve ecoregions are urgently needed to provide accurate data for conservation development planning used by local government institutions and non government organizations working in ecoregion conservation. The main goal of this research is to know the diversity and population distribution of butterflies of Nymphalidae family, especially Charaxinae, Apaturinae, Nymphalinae and Heliconiinae sub families in Papua. This research organized with descriptive analytic method with literature studies, while qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. Secondary data such as research results, butterflies specimen collections, and other reference were studied. This research found that there were 53 species of butterflies of Nymphalidae family which consisted of 3 species of Charaxinae sub family, 5 species of Apaturinae sub family, 32 species of Nymphalinae sub family, and 13 species of Heliconiinae sub family. Species Cyrestis acilia (Apaturinae sub family), Pantoporia venilia and Hypolimnas alimena (both are from Nymphalinae sub family) are mostly found in Papua in Vogelkop-Aru Lowland Rain Forest Ecoregion, Vogelkop Montane Rain Forest Ecoregion, Biak Numfor Rain Forest Ecoregion, Japen Rain Forest Ecoregion, Northern New Guinea Lowland Rain and Freshwater Swamp Forest Ecoregion, Central Range Montane Rain Forest Ecoregion, Southern New Guinea Freshwater Swamp Forest Ecoregion, and Trans Fly Savanna and Grassland Ecoregion Considering that butterflies from Nymphalidae family with its four sub families identified in this research are exist almost in all ecoregions in Papua, urgent and strategic efforts are needed to keep them sustain their roles in ecological processes and to provide economic benefits for human being. Keywords: Butterflies, Nymphalidae family, Charaxinae, Apaturinae, Nymphalinae, Heliconiinae, Papua
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