Occurrence of fruit-feeding butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in a fragment of Araucaria Moist Forest in Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to contribute to the knowledge of fruit-feeding butterflies in different habitats in a fragment of Araucaria Moist Forest, located in São Francisco de Paula municipality, in the Northeast region of Rio Grande do Sul State. The samples were carried out monthly between March 2008 and February 2009 in two transects. Eight bait traps with fermented banana and sugar cane juice were placed in each transect per sample occasion. After a total of 5760 sampling hours 30 fruit-feeding butterfly species were recorded belonging to three subfamilies and six tribes. Three species are new records for Araucaria Moist Forest in Rio Grande do Sul: Prepona pylene pylene, Narope cyllastros and Opoptera sulcius, the latter being recorded previously in the southeast region in this state.