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Abstract

Butterfl ies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) visiting fl owers in the Botanical Garden of the Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. Urban environments, such as parks and gardens, may offer many alimentary resources, besides shelter and favorable conditions, for butterfl y survival. This study aimed to make an inventory of butterfl ies visiting fl owers in the Botanical Garden of
the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM). From March 2006 to March 2007, the fl oral visitors were observed weekly for 2h. After 108 hours’ observations, 1114 visits by 39 butterfl y species, associated with 43 plant species (21 families), were confi rmed. Among the butterfl ies, Nymphalidae had the highest richness of species (S = 18), followed by Hesperiidae (S = 8), Pieridae (S = 7), Papilionidae (S = 4) and Lycaenidae (S = 2). The pierid Phoebis philea philea was the most frequent species (187 visits), followed by hesperiids Urbanus proteus proteus (100), U. teleus (73) and the nymphalid Heliconius erato phyllis (71). Lantana camara (Verbenaceae), Eupatorium laevigatum (Asteraceae), Russelia equisetiformis (Scrophulariaceae) and Stachytarpheta cayennensis (Verbenaceae) were the most visited plants. The Botanical Garden of UFSM is an example of an urban park that seems to provide fl oral resources for the feeding of many butterfl y species, beingalso a potential refuge for species from forest areas nearby.