Frugivorous butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Irmao Teodoro Luis Botanical Garden, Capao do Leao, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

In Rio Grande do Sul, there’s a lack of systematic information on frugivorous butterflies. This paper aimed survey the guild at Irmao Teodoro Luis Botanical Garden, an environment characterized by ecological tension between the semideciduous seasonal forest and the pioneer formations. The collections were made in three areas, each one containing five modified Van Someren-Rydon traps, baited with fermented banana. The traps remained on the field for six consecutive days per month, from September 2010 to August 2011. Within 10.800 hours of sampling effort, 453 individuals were recorded, distributed into 16 species, 15 genera, and 3 Nymphalidae subfamilies. Satyrinae was the richest and most abundant one, and two species from this group are very frequent and dominant. Richness rates indicated between 78% and 93% of the reported fauna, the species accumulation curve matches these values, and the diversity was 2.02 (H’). Prepona pylene Hewitson, [1854] and Archaeoprepona demophoon (Hübner, [1814]) constitute new records for the Southern Coast of the state.