Ronaldo Bastos Francini

An illustrated key to male Actinote from Southeastern Brazil (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)

Em certas epocas do ano, as borboletas do genero Actinote podem ser muito abundantes no sudeste do Brasil, constituindo, entao, elementos conspicuous da nossa fauna. Sua coloracao alar permite a separacao em cinco padroes basicos, provavelmente relacionados com o mimetismo. Alem disso, series de exemplares coletados no campo ou criados em laboratorio demonstram claramente que existe uma grande variabilidade intra-especifica na coloracao alar destas borboletas. Em conjunto, a semelhanca entre as especies (mimetismo) e variacao intra-especifica dificultam o reconhecimento das especies de Actinote. Esta chave tem como objetivo auxiliar a identificacao dos machos destas borboletas e, para tanto, sao apresentados caracteres diagnosticos, ilustracoes das asas e genitalia de 22 especies. Esperamos que a clara identificacao destas especies possa revelar a presenca de especies ainda nao reconhecidas no sudeste do Brasil.

Short-Term Dynamics Reveals Seasonality in a Subtropical Heliconius Butterfly

Although tropical insect populations are generally regarded as constant and stable over time, some of these tropical populations, including butterflies, may fluctuate according to precipitation and temperature variation, specialized feeding patterns, and density-dependent factors. Heliconiini butterfly populations are generally regarded as stable over time because of the presence of host-plants and absence of diapause. However, peaks of abundance occur in subtropical Heliconius populations, and opposite trends concerning stability are found in the literature. Here we further investigate the dynamics of subtropical Heliconius butterflies by assessing a population of the species Heliconius sara apseudes from southeastern Brazil. We estimated individual apparent survival probability and population growth rate while accounting for the imperfect detectability of individuals using mark-recapture models to evaluate the population dynamics. Adult males presented slightly higher weekly survival estimates than females. Contrary to the common pattern described in the literature for Heliconius populations we observed a rapid decline on the adult population by the end of the mating season, possibly leading to local extinction. We discuss the potential drivers for such dynamics.

Butterflies of Alcatrazes Island, São Paulo State, Brazil (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea)

Islands are simplified and isolated ecosystems that have been used to study ecological and evolutionary process. An important study site is the The Alcatrazes Archipelago; its main island is forested and occupied by marine birds and endemic species of terrestrial vertebrates. Records of specie richness are useful to assess the degree of habitat isolation and resilience, both relevant to practical of conservation. The pioneering registers of Luderwaldt and Fonseca in 1923 cited seven species of butterflies. We found only three of them and found eight and two new occurrences during 1993- 1994 and 2011 expeditions, respectively. Alcatrazes island has only 18 species of butterflies known against 538 species of continental coastline. This low richness is derived from hard physical conditions of island, hindering the colonization. The Alcatrazes butterflies have good power of flight dispersal and feed on plants of secondary vegetation near-coastal habitats; its populations and community changed in short time space.