Borboletas (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea e Hesperioidea) da região da Baixada Santista, litoral de São Paulo (SE Brasil). Uma lista com 538 espécies de borboletas registradas na Baixada Santista é apresentada. Foram seguidos os protocolos amostrais padronizados (i.e. redes entomológicas). Armadilhas com iscas foram instaladas para coleta de espécies frugívoras. Dados de literatura e coleções entomológicas também foram considerados nas estimativas de riqueza de espécies. A riqueza de espécies registrada na Baixada Santista representa cerca de 16% da fauna de borboletas do Brasil, e 34% da fauna de borboletas do Estado de São Paulo. A presente lista contém um número consideravelmente alto de espécies em comparação com outras listas de biomas similares mais ao sul, como Blumenau em Santa Catarina, e Maquiné no Rio Grande do Sul.

Butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) of the "Baixada Santista" region, coastal São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. A list with 538 species of butterflies recorded in the Baixada Santista, São Paulo ( SE Brazil) is presented. Standard sampling protocols (i.e. with entomological nets) were followed. Baited traps were installed for fruit feeding species. Data from the literature and entomological collections were also considered in the total estimated species richness. The species richness recorded in the Baixada Santista region represents about 16% of the Brazilian butterfly fauna, and 34% of the known butterfly fauna for the state of São Paulo. The present list contains an appreciably higher number of species in comparison to other lists from similar biomes farther south, such as Blumenau in Santa Catarina, and Maquiné in Rio Grande do Sul.

The Muscoidea community of two adjacent areas was sampled. For eight months one area was of secondary tropical forest and the other was an open field used for cattle grazing. The main purpose of the study was to investigate if there would be any differences in abundance, family diversity, community composition and bait attractiveness. Results suggest that the change in the environment resulted in a reduction of overall abundance, but not a reduced diversity in terms of families. None of the families was led to a marked decrease or increase, as might be expected in a disturbed environment. The changes observed in the community composition were not significant for the distribution and abundance rank of the families within that community. The environmental change also seemed to affect the way the flies responded to the baits.

A different approach was used for the key-factor method in a population study of the tropical butterfly Fountainea ryphea (Cramer, [1776]) (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae), marking 20 artificial cohorts to identify the mortality levels and associated instars responsible for the variation in numbers within the season of occurrence, when generations overlap broadly. Highest mortality was detected during first instar in 13 cohorts; during second instar in three cohorts; third and fourth instars suffered highest mortality twice. Results showed that first instar mortality due to rainfall and predation, and parasitism on fourth instar could be the main factors promoting differences in number between cohorts throughout the season, although no density-dependent processes could be identified.

This work describes some interactions between lepidopteran larvae and braconid parasitoids on a group of plants at two sites. There was no significant difference in parasitoid diversity between the sites (Shannon index, p<0.05), and similarity was 62.5%, estimated through Sorensen's index. The diversity of hosts was also not different (p<0.05), but the similarity of host diversity was only 28.5%. This suggests that the parasitoids have strategies for maintaining similar reproduction rates, population densities and communities in areas with different potential hosts.