Butterflies (Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) from Guarapuava and vicinity, Paraná, Brazil: an inventory based on records of 63 years

Abstract

Despite figuring among the countries with high diversity of butterflies, Brazil has little information available of its biodiversity. Paraná is one of brazilian states with the less known lepidopteran fauna. Only Curitiba and vicinity have a list of butterflies species published, while all other Paraná regions lack such information. Aiming to provide new informations about the butterflies fauna in Paraná state, this study compiles information of 63 years of collect (1944 to 2002 and from 2005 to 2010) in Guarapuava and vicinity, south-central Paraná, and emphasizes the typical grassland species, now nearly extinct in this region. Were recorded 689 species, 264 of these were recorded only in one of the sampling periods. About 6% are typical grassland species and fewer than half of those were recorded recently. Pieridae, Nymphalidae and Papilionidae latest records are more similar to earlier records than Riodinidae, Hesperiidae, and Lycaenidae. We suggest the creation of permanent conservation areas comprising grasslands, as they encompass a unique fauna and are threatened locally; furthermore, they are not protected by any conservation areas already established in the region.