Abstract

MONTERO-A, Fredy; MORENO-P, María  and  GUTIERREZ-M, Luis Carlos. BUTTERFLIES (LEPIDOPTERA: HESPERIOIDEA AND PAPILIONOIDEA) ASSOCIATED WITH DRY TROPICAL FOREST FRAGMENTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF ATLANTICO, COLOMBIA. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2009, vol.13, n.2, pp.157-173. ISSN 0123-3068.

Lepidoptera is a group of insects which show high diversity and are common in the dry tropical forests. In this area, butterflies feed, reproduce, migrate and some species lay their eggs on leafs there, which enables the use of this group as bioindicator, related to the degree of conservation of the ecosystem. Therefore, it is necessary to find possibilities to characterize rescue and conserve these organisms. This research will increase the butterfly inventory of the dry tropical forest fragments of the department of Atlantico. It will also contribute more information on the distribution of butterfly species in Colombia and on the butterfly-rich areas. This paper reports 123 species ofrom the six families of the Neotropical Region; the majority of species belong to the Pyrginae (Hesperiidae), Biblidinae (Nymphalidae) and Theclinae (Lycaenidae) subfamilies. Some species show outstanding ecological specifications, some associated to biotypes within the forests, for example Myscelia leucocyana (Biblidinae), or in places with a high degree of anthropic intervention, for example Leptotes cassius. The most common species are (27.27% of the populations): Parides anchises, Mechanitis lysimnia, Callicore pitheas, Typhedanus undulatus, Chlosyne lacinia and Heliconius erato. The ecological importance of areas such as San Juan de Tocagua (Luruaco) and Guaibana (Repelón), where exclusive species are found, and which are difficult to sight, are cited in the text. Some of the best conserved and most extensive forest remains within the department are presented.

Keywords : lepidoptera; Atlántico; dry tropical forest; ecology; conservation.

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