The effect of rainforest fragmentation on species diversity and mimicry ring composition of ithomiine butterflies

1. Subfamily Ithomiinae comprises about 370 species of Neotropical butterflies associated with humid forest habitats from Mexico to northern Argentina. Adult Ithomiinae are central models in many mimicry rings throughout their range, and are assumed to have high potential as bio-indicators. Here, we compare diversity and composition of Ithomiinae mimicry rings in continuous vs. fragmented landscapes, and evaluate values these butterflies hold for ecological assessment and monitoring of anthropogenic disturbance. 2. Sampling was carried out at four sites inside a large forest block, the Morro Grande State Reserve, and in five forest fragments in a neighbour-fragmented landscape. Butterflies were sampled with portable traps, baited with a fermented mixture of banana and sugar cane juice. Sampling was carried out during the period most favourable for the capture of ithomiine butterflies in southeastern Brazil. 3. There was no difference between landscapes in species richness and diversity index, but dominance index, and the distributions of tribes and mimicry rings between them was clearly different. The higher average light intensity in the understorey of fragments could explain in part the higher abundance of mimicry patterns typical of open sunny habitats, and concomitantly reduced abundance of clearwing mimicry patterns, typical of shaded habitats. These results confirm the potential of ithomiine assemblages as biological indicators of habitat quality.