Predation on Philaethria wernickei (Röber) by Anax concolor Br. in Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, Rio de Janeiro, SE Brazil (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae; Anisoptera: Aeshnidae)

In March 2002, during a long-term ornithological study in the said National Park, a female A. concolor was noticed predating on the butterfly, P. wernickei (Fig. I). The dragonfly was seen at 10:00 am on the ground near a lagoon (22° l6’S,4i°39’W), eating the butterfly’s head. After this, the dragonfly (lew off with its prey to a shrub, where, by the time we caught it, it had completely consumed the butterfly’s head. In the same type of habitat, in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil, A. concolor was recorded preying also on other dragonflies (P. DeMARCO & T. SANTOS-DeMARCO, 1998, Notul. odonatol 5:2-3).