Seasonal climatic effects on the Lepidoptera diversity in a peri-urban patch of “restinga” in Brazil

Global climate change and the accelerated urbanization process of coastal habitats have resulted in a drastic reduction in biodiversity, including lepidopteran fauna. In the Atlantic Forest, “restingas” are among the most threatened phytophysiognomies because they are located on the coastal strip, where high demographic densities are concentrated. Therefore, restinga areas have been strongly affected by actions of urbanization, but data on species composition, endemism, or extinction risks, mainly for its entomofauna, remains scarce. In this work, we evaluated whether the abundance and richness of butterfly and diurnal moth species respond to seasonal variations at the Restinga of Barreto Municipal Natural Park (PNMRB) in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We actively searched for butterflies and diurnal moths between 2019 and 2020 and captured them using an entomological net. We tested whether species richness and abundance varied between different periods of the day (morning and afternoon) and seasons (dry and rainy season). We sampled a total of 236 individuals representing 40 butterflies and diurnal moth from eight families. Species abundance and richness were higher during the dry season, when average temperature, relative humidity and rainfall are lower. We observed two peaks of species abundance during the day, one at ~ 10:00 am and the other at ~ 2:00 pm. Nymphalidae was the family with the greatest richness and abundance and the most abundant species were Ascia monuste orseis (Godart, 1819), Heliconius sara apseudes (Hubner, 1813) and Dryas iulia alcionea (Cramer, 1779). The lepidopteran fauna of PNMRB presented a clear seasonal pattern, showing that climatic fluctuations related to variations in average temperature and rainfall can negatively affect this important group of pollinating insects. Studies involving Lepidoptera communities are fundamental to management and conservation plans of insect fauna and the ecosystem services. In this sense, the survey of Lepidoptera diversity in the PNMRB can be relevant information for the maintenance or expansion of protected areas. Also generate data that can increase the knowledge about climatic effects on the temporal distribution and conservation of Neotropical Lepidoptera.