Fruit-feeding butterflies in the Atlantic Forest at Serra do Tabuleiro State Park, Santa Catarina State, Brazil

Abstract

Fruit-feeding butterflies are used in ecological studies following standardized sampling protocols because they are easily collected using traps baited with food. This trait, and the fact that their populations respond rapidly to changes in habitat, make them good biological indicators. The goal of this study is to present a list of fruit-feeding butterfly species, including morphological and ecological characteristics of this group, for the Atlantic Forest of Serra do Tabuleiro State Park (Santa Catarina), to improve the knowledge about the butterflies from this region. Six field expeditions were carried out between November 2009 and August 2010. Twenty-five bait traps were used, which remained active for ten days and were checked every 48 h to replace the bait and collect individuals. Twenty species and 331 individuals were captured, which belonged to three subfamilies: Biblidinae, Charaxinae and Satyrinae. The study added eleven new species to the already existing list of the Atlantic Forest butterflies of Santa Catarina.

Keywords

• Ecology
• Lepidoptera
• Nymphalidae
• Rain Forest
• Species list