Helena Piccoli Romanowski

Lista de espécies de borboletas (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea e Hesperioidea) da região do vale do rio Maquiné, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Procurando contribuir para o levantamento sistematico e o conhecimento das borboletas da Mata Atlântica do Rio Grande do Sul, foram realizadas saidas bimestrais em quatro localidades no vale do rio Maquine, entre junho de 2001 e agosto de 2002. Foi elaborada uma listagem com 292 especies de borboletas, sendo destas 42 registros novos para o Rio Grande do Sul e sete especies raras e/ou indicadoras de ambiente preservado.

Borboletas (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea e Hesperioidea) ocorrentes em diferentes ambientes na Floresta Ombrófila Mista e nos Campos de Cima da Serra do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Com o intuito de contribuir para o conhecimento das borboletas da Floresta Ombrofila Mista e Campos de Cima da Serra do Rio Grande do Sul foi elaborada uma listagem de especies da assembleia de borboletas da Floresta Nacional de Sao Francisco de Paula e entorno. Foram realizadas saidas bimestrais de marco de 2006 a maio de 2008 sendo selecionados seis ambientes: (i) mata nativa de Araucaria angustifolia, (ii) mata nativa mesclada com reflorestamento de Araucaria angustifolia, (iii) reflorestamento de Araucaria angustifolia de mata aberta, (iv) reflorestamento de Araucaria angustifolia de mata fechada, (v) reflorestamento de Pinus e (vi) campo de altitude nativo. Apos 674 horas-rede de amostragem foram registradas 277 especies e subespecies de borboletas, distribuidas em 9661 individuos, pertencentes a seis familias, sendo destas 139 novos registros para esta regiao dos Campos de Cima da Serra, 13 novas ocorrencias para o estado e seis especies raras ou indicadoras de ambiente preservado.

Borboletas (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea e Hesperioidea) do Parque Estadual do Espinilho e entorno, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

This paper provides the first species list of butterflies from Espinilho State Park (30°11’S, 57°30’W) and surroundings in southwestern Rio Grande do Sul state. From March 2003 to January 2004, four field expeditions were carried out, lasting five days each. The study covered areas with “Savana Estepica Parque” vegetation and riparian forest inside the park boundary and on its surroundings. The list included 97 species, 10 of which are new records for Rio Grande do Sul.

Nymphalidae, Papilionidae e Pieridae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) da Serra do Sudeste do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

To contribute to the knowledge on the composition and distribution of the butterfly fauna of the Southeastern region of Rio Grande do Sul state (RS), five areas at Serra do Sudeste were sampled between April/2003 and January/2004. The species composition of Nymphalidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae was compared with existing records for the contiguous areas at the foot of Serra do Sudeste and the South Coast Plain (Pelotas and surroundings). In a total of 289 net-hours of sampling at Serra do Sudeste, 2.326 individuals in 81 species were recorded: 59 Nymphalidae, 12 Papilionidae and 10 Pieridae. Literature data available for the adjacent areas lists 138 species. Putting both sources together, a total of 152 species are now registered for the Southeast Region of RS: 110 Nymphalidae, 14 Papilionidae and 28 Pieridae. Amongst these species, 14 (9%) occur only in Serra do Sudeste, and 71 (47%) only at the contiguous areas. The results demonstrate the peculiar composition of Serra do Sudeste lepidopterofauna and emphasize the biological importance of this area of Rio Grande do Sul.

Diversity and composition of tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in an area of Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil: is the fauna more diverse in the grassland or in the forest?

The Atlantic Forest is considered a biodiversity hotspot for conservation, because its fauna and flora are highly endemic and suffer from loss of natural habitats. This study assessed the composition and diversity of tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in two floristic formations of the southern Atlantic Forest (grassland and Araucaria forest) and in a transition zone (forest edge). The moths were attracted to UV light reflected onto a white sheet. A total of 3,574 tiger moths were collected, representing 121 species. The rarefaction curves showed that the tiger-moth assemblage collected in the grassland was more diverse than the assemblages from the Araucaria forest and the transition zone. The assemblages in the forest and forest edge resembled each other, whereas the grassland assemblage was distinct. The composition of the tiger-moth assemblages was related to the environmental characteristics [habitat type (grassland, edge, or forest), altitude, temperature, air relative humidity] and the location of the sites. The faunal similarity decreased in response to increasing environmental and geographical distances between the sites. The responsiveness of tiger moths to small-scale variation in environmental and geographical parameters indicates their good potential as environmental indicators.

Fruit-feeding butterflies guide of subtropical Atlantic Forest and Araucaria Moist Forest in State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This study presents a compilation of fruit-feeding butterflies species for Rio Grande do Sul Atlantic Forest aiming to be a tool for identification of these lepidopterans from two phytophysiognomies of this biome. Samples were carried out for more than four years with entomological nets and bait traps techniques in areas of Subtropical Atlantic Forest (SAF) and Araucaria Moist Forest (AMF). Seventy-six butterfly species were recorded in this region of Atlantic Forest, 60 species for SAF and 53 for AMF. Fruit-feeding butterflies represent about 50% of the total species richness of the Nymphalidae recorded for the region, a value of the same order of those found for similar studies in tropical forests regions. Dasyophthalma rusina is a new record for Rio Grande do Sul.

Oviposition behaviour of Gryon gallardoi (Hym.; Scelionidae) on eggs of Spartocera dentiventris (Hem.; Coreidae)

The oviposition behaviour of Gryon gallardoi (Hymenoptera; Scelionidae) on Spartocera dentiventris (Hemiptera; Coreidae) host eggs was investigated in the laboratory. Masses of 12 non-parasitized freshly laid (less than 24 h old) eggs were exposed to 2-5 days old mated females with previous oviposition experience (n = 10). Behaviour was observed for 2 h under the stereomicroscope. The eggs were Then kept individually at 25 degrees +/- 1 degree C/12 h photophase till hatching. The mean number of parasitized eggs was 7.8 +/- 0.81 (mean +/- SE). Five distinct kinds of behaviour were observed: drumming with antennae on the eggs, ovipositor insertion, egg marking, walking and resting. On average, ovipositor insertion was not followed by marking 4.3 +/- 0.76 times per female. In nearly all of these events, parasitism was unsuccessful. Walking and resting were observed less frequently than the other behaviours (1.6 +/- 0.56 and 2.1 +/- 0.48 times/female, respectively). Superparasitism occurred on average 3.6 +/- 0.88 times per egg mass, with 2.7 +/- 0.57 eggs being superparasitized. Among these, on average 87.4 +/- 5.37% led to successful development of an adult parasitoid. The average time spent on the each kind of oviposition behaviour was 1.5 +/- 0.57 min for drumming, 3.9 +/- 0.56 min for ovipositor insertion and 0.4 +/- 0.06 min for marking. There was no significant variation on the duration of each behaviour as the parasitoid progressed in parasitizing an egg mass. Ovipositor insertion almost always (87.58%) occurred in the longitudinal extremities of the egg. In average 31.1 +/- 7.21% of the individual emerging per egg mass were males, the larger proportion of males originating from the 2nd oviposition. The results show a range of oviposition behaviours common to the Scelionidae family. Egg marking behaviour was a good indicator of the effective oviposition by females. Superparasitism is only partially avoided, but its occurrence does not imply a failure of parasitoid emergence. The sex ratio is skewed towards females, and most males come from the first ovipositions.

Eugeniamyia dispar gen.n. and sp.n. (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae, Lasiopteridi) associated with Eugenia uniflora l. (Myrtaceae) in Brazil

A new genus and species Eugeniamyia dispar (Diptera, Cecidomyiidae, Lasiopteridi) that cause leaf galls on Eugenia uniflora L. (Myrtaceae) in Brazil, is described.

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea e Hesperioidea) from Espinilho State Park and surroundings, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

This paper provides the first species list of butterflies from Espinilho State Park (30°11’S, 57°30’W) and surroundings in southwestern Rio Grande do Sul state. From March 2003 to January 2004, four field expeditions were carried out, lasting five days each. The study covered areas with “Savana Estepica Parque” vegetation and riparian forest inside the park boundary and on its surroundings. The list included 97 species, 10 of which are new records for Rio Grande do Sul.

Dispersal of the egg parasitoid Gryon gallardoi (Brethes) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in tobacco crops.

A mass marking-recapture experiment was carried out to study the dispersal of Gryon gallardoi (Brethes) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in tobacco crops. Parasitoids emerged in the laboratory were marked with dye powder. Six separate field trials were conducted in Jan/Feb 2002 involving the simultaneous release of marked parasitoids. Dispersal was determined by the recapture of individuals in sets of sticky and Moericke traps arranged in three concentric circles arranged at 1.4 m intervals from the central point of release. Traps were checked 4, 8, 24, 28, 32 and 48 h after parasitoid release and weather data were recorded at 2-h intervals from 9 to 17 h at the site. Of the 699 marked parasitoids released, 91 were recaptured (13.02%). Fewer females were recaptured in the late afternoon, suggesting they are less active than males after dusk. G. gallardoi recaptures were not associated with average wind direction in any trials. After eight hours of release, recaptures occurred mostly in the traps farthest from the release point, suggesting that the experimental area was small in relation to the dispersal capacity of the parasitoid. Fitting a 4-h-after-release density-distance curve to a geometric model and considering a daily activity of 12 h, the female dispersal capacity was estimated to be at least 7.6 m/day. The values reported here must be considered as indicative of the potential for active dispersal under the particular experimental conditions of these trials. It is possible that G. gallardoi may disperse downwind much farther than the distance recorded in this study.