ABSTRACT Caligo teucer (Linnaeus, 1758) is widely distributed in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Ecuador. The objective was to study biological aspects of Caligo teucer japetus Stichel, 1903 with banana leaves, Musa sapientium L. (Zingiberales: Musaceae), in the butterfly garden, under environmental conditions, and in the laboratory of biological control of insects at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Viçosa, Minas Gerais state, Brazil at 24 ± 2 oC, 68 ± 10% relative humidity and 12 hours photophase. The duration of the egg incubation, larvae, pupa and egg to adult periods of C. teucer japetus were, respectively, 11.8 ± 0.1; 53.9 ± 0.9; 17.9 ± 0.3 and 82.6 ± 1.0 days for females, and 11.8 ± 0.1; 50.3 ± 0.6; 18.4 ± 0.3 and 79.4 ± 0.6 days for males in cages in the laboratory. The longevity of C. teucer japetus adults was 26.0 ± 10.4 and 47.5 ± 8.7 for females and 24.7 ± 3.5 and 35.4 ± 15.7 for males in the butterfly garden and in laboratory cages, respectively. The high survival and the relatively short period of development of its immature stages confirm that banana leaves are an adequate food substrate for the development and survival of Caligo teucer japetus.

Resumo Comunidades florestais são ambientes dinâmicos, nas quais processos de sucessão ocorrem naturalmente, podendo conduzir à maturidade da floresta. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a estrutura do componente arbustivo-arbóreo de um fragmento de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual e caracterizar o seu estágio sucessional. O estudo foi realizado no município de Alegre, Espírito Santo, na ARIE Laerth Paiva Gama. A amostragem de todos os indivíduos com DAP ≥ 5 cm foi realizada por meio de pontos-quadrantes. Além dos parâmetros ecológicos foi obtida a estrutura diamétrica para a comunidade. As espécies foram classificadas quanto ao grupo ecológico em pioneiras, secundárias iniciais e secundárias tardias, e quanto ao grau de ameaça de extinção. Foram registradas 112 espécies, 81 gêneros e 34 famílias, das quais se destacaram em Valor de Importância Pseudopiptadenia contorta (15,33), Apuleia leiocarpa (5,08), Acosmium lentiscifolium (4,42) e Parapiptadenia pterosperma (4,30). O índice de Shannon foi de 4,17 e a equabilidade de 0,87, sendo considerados valores elevados para florestas estacionais semideciduais. Com relação à avaliação dos grupamentos ecológicos, as secundárias tardias e iniciais se destacaram em riqueza, no entanto as iniciais foram mais abundantes na comunidade. Deste modo, o remanescente florestal estudado pode ser caracterizado como pertencente ao estágio sucessional inicial-intermediário.

Abstract Forest communities are dynamic environments in which succession processes occur naturally, may lead to the maturity of the forest. The objective of this study was to evaluate the structure of the woody component of a fragment of semideciduous forest and characterize their successional stage. The study was conducted in the municipality of Alegre, Espirito Santo, in ARIE Laerth Paiva Gama. The sampling of all individuals with DBH ≥ 5 cm was performed by points quadrants. In addition to the ecological parameters it was obtained diameter structure to the community. The species were classified according to environmental group in pioneers, early secondary and late secondary, and the degree of threat of extinction. Were recorded the 112 species, 81 genera and 34 families, of which have excelled in importance value were Pseudopiptadenia contorta (15.33), Apuleia leiocarpa (5.08), Acosmium lentiscifolium (4.42) and Parapiptadenia pterosperma (4.30). The Shannon index was 4.17 and the evenness of 0.87 and are considered high values for semideciduous forests. As to the evaluation of ecological groups, late and early secondary stood out in wealth, however initials were more abundant in the community. Thus, the remaining forest studied can be characterized as belonging to the initial-intermediate stage succession.