Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea) from Mixed Ombrophilous Forest fragments, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

The landscape of Campos de Cima da Serra region, at North of Rio Grande do Sul State, is fragmented and its biodiversity threatened due the impact of human activities. This study investigated the butterfly fauna in fragments of Mixed Ombrophilous Forest native vegetation (VN) and anthropic area (AA) at Soledade and Mormaço municipalities. 1,181 butterflies were registered and distributed in 125 species, after 108 net-hours through active search sampling with entomological net. VN registered 72 species and 470 individuals, while AA had 89 and 711, respectively. Heliconius erato phyllis (Fabricius, 1775), Biblis hyperia nectanabis (Fruhstorfer, 1909) and Dryas iulia alcionea (Cramer, 1779) were the three most abundant species in general and in AA, while Strephonota elika (Hewitson, 1867), H. erato phyllis and Morpho helenor achillides C. Felder & R. Felder, 1867 were the most abundant in VN. Thirty-three species are considered new records for Mixed Ombrophilous Forest in Rio Grande do Sul State. The results show the contribution of butterfly rapid inventories as source of subsidies to biodiversity conservation.