Esfingídeos (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) no Tabuleiro Paraibano, nordeste do Brasil: abundância, riqueza e relação com plantas esfingófilas

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Hawkmoths (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae) in the Tabuleiro Paraibano, northeastern Brazil: abundance, richness and relations to sphingophilous plants. Hawkmoths (Sphingidae) are among the major pollinators in tropical communities. Here the first survey of sphingids and related plants in Northeastern Brazil is presented. The sphingids were surveyed from March 1999 through April 2000 at the Reserva Biol6gica Guaribas, Mamanguape, Parruba State. On black and mix light traps, 136 hawkmoths from 24 species were captured. Individuals of Erinnyis ello (Linnaeus, 1758), !sognathLls menechus (Boisduval, 1875) andXylophanes tersa (Linnaeus, 1771) represented 58% of the samples. One half of the recorded species show wide distribution in the Neotropics. Three species were registered for more than six months. Most of the species were found only in the dry or wet season. Pollen from 34 plant species were recorded by pollen analysis of sphingid mouth parts. Hancornia speciosa (Apocynaceae) and Guettarda platipoda (Rubiaceae) were the most important food plants. Both are characteristic elements of the Tabuleiro Nordestino and present typically sphingophilous flowers. More than one half of the sphingids presented pollen from only one or two species of plants . By transporting large quantities of pollen of a few species, hawk moths seem to be the main pollinators of nocturnal flowers in the Tabuleiro Paraibano.

Limited Fruit Production in Hancornia speciosa (Apocynaceae) and Pollination by Nocturnal and Diurnal Insects1

“…During our study, H. speciosa shared flower visitors particularly with Guettarda platipoda (Rubiaceae), a sphingophilous mass‐flowering shrub (Darrault & Schlindwein 2002). Pollinator sharing may have a negative impact on the reproductive success of co‐occuring plant species (Levin & Anderson 1970, Kephart 1983, Armbruster 1986).…”

Riqueza, abundância e diversidade de Euglossina (Hymenoptera, Apidae) em três áreas da Reserva Biológica Guaribas, Paraíba, Brasil

“…Caracterizado por uma vegetação aberta, com espécies herbáceas e aglomerações esparsas de vegetação arbórea arbustiva onde se destacam espécies típicas do Cerrado, além de espécies peculiares (TAVARES 1988a, b) e Floresta Estacional Semidecídua, caracterizada por uma formação florestal com espécies típicas da Mata Atlântica e elementos amazônicos (DARRAULT & SCHLINDWEIN 2002), atualmente em processo de regeneração. Ocorre ainda na Reserva uma área de transição entre os dois tipos fitofisionômicos.…”

Floral resources used by insects in a grassland community in Southern Brazil

“…However, information about floral sources for other insect groups, at community level, are less common (e.g. Silberbauer-Gottsberger & Gottsberger 1988, Arruda & Sazima 1996, Wilms et al 1997, Oliveira & Gibbs 2000, Corrêa et al 2001, SouzaSilva et al 2001, Darrault & Schlindwein 2002, Machado & Lopes 2004, Oliveira et al 2004, Freitas & Sazima 2006, Hermes & Köhler 2006. Moreover, the majority of studies with anthophilous insects only indicate which plants are visited, with few works mentioning floral resources utilized in each plant species by the visitors.…”