Cronobiologia de Saturniidae e Sphingidae (Lepidoptera) em área de Cerrado do Médio Mearim, Estado do Maranhão

Abstract

Everyday it is noticeable declines in biodiversity, the fauna and flora are being diminished all the time and Lepidoptera surveys are important for the conservation of environments, considering that they can be used as bioindicators, such surveys are still a gap to be filled in the State of Maranhão. Studies on chronobiology of Saturniidae and Sphingidae in the Cerrado area provide important and unprecedented information on the dynamics of these families' communities. Thus, thisstudy aimed to contribute to theknowledge of the chronobiology of Saturniidae and Sphingidae in the Cerrado area, in the state of Maranhão. Bimonthly collections were carried out on two consecutive days, in the rural area of the municipality of Pedreiras- MA, located in the Centro Maranhense mesoregion and part of the Médio Mearim microregion, in a Cerrado environment. The collections were carried out from December 2022 to June 2023, using a light-type trap. Temperature and humidity data were collected using a Digital Thermo- Hygrometer. A list of species and the calculation of the following faunistic indices were prepared: relative frequency, abundance, constancy and dominance. Diversity and species richness estimation will also be calculated inopen access R program. The resultsachieved show activity patterns of the two families, where Saturniidae was more abundant in the first part of the night, while Sphingidae is more abundant in the second part of the night. Both Saturniidae and Sphingidae tend to prefer temperatures between 22°C and 26°C. Chronobiology helps to understand the patterns of activity between similar species that perform their biological functions in the same temporal space