Nectarivore butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) from an Urban Forest Fragment in Manaus, Amazonas

Abstract

Lepidoptera is a diverse and abundant group of insects, widely used in biodiversity and conservation studies, as it has great social appeal. From this perspective, this study was aimed to conduct a survey of flower – visiting butterfly species in Bosque da Ciência, at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), an urban forest fragment open to public visitation in the State of Amazonas, Brazil. Thus, attractive plants for nectarivorous butterflies were observed, and the best location and conditions for viewing such diversity, as well as a guide for their identification was proposed. Forty-three species of flower – visiting butterflies were identified, among which Anthoptus epictetus (Fabricius), Ascia monuste (Linnaeus), Anartia jatrophae (Linnaeus), Eurema albula (Cramer) were observed to be more frequent. According to the species accumulation curve, the species richness of butterflies would be higher if greater collection effort were employed. The period of greatest flight activity and flower - visitation occurred from 9 am to 11 am. Of the six attractive plants identified, Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Rich.) and Lantana camara L. were the most visited, so we consider that these species are important for butterfly attractiveness. The butterflies of Bosque da Ciência are a representation of the nectarivores guild of the city of Manaus, Amazonas, and the establishment of an attractive butterfly garden in this place can contribute to the promotion of environmental education by stimulating the knowledge and awareness for biodiversity preservation.