Butterfly community (Lepidoptera) in a protected area of the Atlantic Forest, Paraná, Southern Brazil

Butterflies (Lepidoptera) are important bioindicators of environmental quality, as they exhibit patterns of diversity and seasonality that may be directly related to environmental conditions and resource availability. Thus, this study aimed to conduct a butterfly fauna inventory and investigate community composition and structure across three seasons in a remnant of the Atlantic Forest at the Bela Vista Biological Refuge, municipality of Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná, Southern Brazil. Sampling was conducted from September 2021 to May 2022, with campaigns in autumn, spring, and summer. A total of 435 individuals were collected and distributed among 112 species from six butterfly families. The relative abundance of species suggests that autumn showed a more balanced distribution (H’ = 3.05), whereas spring exhibited lower diversity (H’ = 1.99), indicating a temporal shift in community composition and structure. The most diverse season was autumn, and no statistically significant difference in diversity was found between summer and spring. Therefore, the protection and management of areas such as the Bela Vista Biological Refuge are important for maintaining regional biodiversity, especially in regions threatened by agricultural and urban expansion.