Checklist of butterflies (Insecta: Lepidoptera) from Serra do Intendente State Park - Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract In order to contribute to the butterflies’ biodiversity knowledge at Serra do Intendente State Park - Minas Gerais, a study based on collections using Van Someren-Rydon traps and active search was performed. In this study, a total of 395 butterflies were collected, of which 327 were identified to species or morphospecies. 263 specimens were collected by the traps and 64 were collected using entomological hand-nets; 43 genera and 60 species were collected and identified.


Introduction
The Lepidoptera is comprised of butterflies and moths; it is one of the main orders of insects which has approximately 157,424 described species Marini-Filho 2011, Zhang 2011). The butterflies, object of this study, have approximately 19,000 species described worldwide (Heppner 1991). The occurrence of 3,300 species is estimated for The climate is mesothermal, characterized by mild, humid summers and dry, cold winters. The average annual rainfall is 1,600 mm. The annual mean temperature is 18, 7ºC (Araujo et al. 2005, Silva et al. 2009). The predominant topography is the mountainous escarpment, mixed with rocky outcrops. The vegetation is mosaic and it is characterized by the presence of striking landscapes of three biomes: Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and Cerrado (Andrade and Domingues 2013).

Data Collection
The collections began in April 2012 and were completed in February of 2013. During this period four collections (two in the rainy season and two in the dry season) were performed. Each collection was performed for five days. The study area was divided into two areas throughout the Peixe Tolo River basin and in each area, forty Van Someren-Rydon traps were distributed. Twenty traps were located on the right bank and other twenty on the left bank of the Peixe Tolo River (Fig. 3). In these traps, baits made of a mixture of ripe banana and sugarcane syrup was used; the solution was left fermenting for forty-eight hours before exposure in the traps.
Throughout the collection period, active search of butterflies was performed in order to capture non-frugivorous butterflies. The specimens collections were conducted throughout the day, starting around 10am until 3pm. The butterflies captured were immediately killed through abdomen compression in order to avoid damage that could compromise identification.

Data analysis
The collected material was mounted, identified and labeled in the PUC Minas Natural Sciences Museum entomological collection laboratory. The identification of the individuals was made using Devries (1997), Freitas et al. (2003), D'Abrera (1987b), D'Abrera (1987a), D'Abrera (1988 and the website Butterflies of America (accessible at http:// butterfliesofamerica.com/). Genera and species were confirmed by Dr. André Freitas, from the Department of Animal Biology, Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Furthermore, a comparison with available identified species in the Lepidoptera collection in the Invertebrates Laboratory (PUC Minas) was performed.

Data resources
In this study 394 individuals were captured, and 327 were identified. Sixty-seven individuals were not identified to genus or species due to bad specimen conditions or incipient systematics.
The families represented in this study were: Nymphalidae, Pieridae, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Papilionidae and Riodinidae. A total of 299 individuals belonging to the Nymphalidae, 15 from the Pieridae, four from the Hesperiidae, four from the Lycaenidae, three from the Papilionidae, and one species from the Riodinidae.
A total of 263 butterflies were collected in traps and 63 using entomological hand-nets. The collections gathered specimens belonging to 43 genera and 60 species (Table 1). During the rainy seasons 181 individuals were collected in which 177 were collected by traps and 4 by entomological hand-nets (Table 2). In the dry seasons 145 individuals were collected: of those, 86 were collected in traps and 59 by entomological hand-nets (

Discussion
The present study showed greater richness of species than the studies performed by Santana (2005)  In southeastern Brazil  recorded 426 species in an area of 33,000 ha,for the Morro do Diabo State Park -São Paulo whereas the study by Brown Jr. and Freitas (2000a) in Santa Tereza -Espirito Santo, 297 species were registered in an area of 332,000 ha. In the state of Minas Gerais, Motta (2002)

Comparison of Lepidoptera inventories with published checklists in Brazil
The Nymphalidae was the family with greatest richness; this diversity can be explained by the fact that this family has great diversity in morphology and habits, as well as in environments with varying vegetation types (Brown Jr. and Freitas 1999) such as found in the Serra do Intendente State Park and the Peixe Tolo Natural Reserve.
In this study, the largest number of individuals collected (145) belongs to the subfamily Satyrinae. This family is important in analyses of disturbance studies (Devries and Walla 2001), in addition to being excellent predictors of the butterfly fauna of the Atlantic Forest (Brown Jr. and Freitas 2000b). From this subfamily, 12 individuals belonging to the Taygetis laches species were captured that has greater preference for more urbanly impacted environments (Silva et al. 2007).
Eurema albula and Eurema elathea, also registered in this site, have cosmopolitan habits and great adaptations for disturbed areas (Isehard et al. 2007, Bogiani et al. 2012. It is important to mention that Morpho helenor, which was well sampled -51 individuals (Table  1), disappears quickly when severe disturbances and size reduction of forests occur (Santana 2005). These data demonstrate that the region could be severely impacted at some sites.
Morpho helenor, Siproeta stelenes, Heliconius erato, and Heliconius ethilla coincided with the study realized at the University Campus Darcy Ribeiro, in an urbanized area in the Federal District ). These are typical species of riparian areas, a characteristic of the sample site. Euptychoides castrensis is found in abundance in tropical rain forest environments, being registered in the states of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Minas Gerais Pedrotti et al. (2011); this study obtained the same high record, a fact that corroborates with the presence of Atlantic Forest patches of vegetation in the studied sites.
There are no records of inventories for the Espinhaço mountain range within the state of Minas Gerais: this is the first published inventory for the region. This study and the only study in the Serra do Espinhaço about butterflies, conducted in Chapada Diamantina in Bahia -Brazil by Zacca and Bravo (2012)  It is emphasized that in this study the majority of butterflies species captured are typical of Cerrado and Atlantic Forest (Emery et al. 2006, Brown Jr. andFreitas 2000b).
Further investigation on biodiversity should be conducted and motivated in this region. The group of Lepidoptera showed great research and conservation potential for the Serra do Intendente State Park. The biodiversity information should be made available for decision makers, specially for regions such as the one studied, which is currently threatened by mining, tourism, and housing developments.