The Endangered Butterfly Charonias theano (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae): Current Status, Threats and its Rediscovery in the State of Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

Author(s)

Freitas, A. V. L. ^[1] ; Kaminski, L. A. ^[1] ; Iserhard, C. A. ^[1] ; Barbosa, E. P. ^[1] ; Marini Filho, O. J. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim & Museu Zool, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Ctr Pesquisa & Conservacao Cerrado & Caatinga CEC, Inst Chico Mendes Conservacao Biodiversidade, Brasilia, DF - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Neotropical Entomology; v. 40, n. 6, p. 669-676, NOV-DEC 2011.
• Web of Science Citations: 6

Abstract

The pierid Charonias theano (Boisduval), an endangered butterfly species, has been rarely observed in nature, and has not been recorded in the state of Sao Paulo in the last 50 years despite numerous efforts to locate extant colonies. Based on museum specimens and personal information, C. theano was known from 26 sites in southeastern and southern Brazil. Recently, an apparently viable population was recorded in a new locality, at Serra do Japi, Jundiai, Sao Paulo, with several individuals observed during two weeks in April, 2011. The existence of this population at Serra do Japi is an important finding, since this site represents one of the few large forested protected areas where the species could potentially persist not only in the state of Sao Paulo, but within its entire historical distribution. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/50225-3 - Natural history, phylogeny and conservation of Neotropical Lepidoptera
• Grantee: André Victor Lucci Freitas
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/51340-8 - Symbiotic interactions between butterfly larvae and ants: natural history, morphology and patterns in host plants use
• Grantee: Lucas Augusto Kaminski
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral