Butterflies Dismorphiinae (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) of Entomology Collection of Natural History Museum of Cauca University, Popayan, Colombia

Biological collections store organisms and valuable information that can be used for biodiversity research. The Entomology Collection of the Natural History Museum of the Cauca University - MHNUC, Colombia, preserves a considerable number of specimens belonging to various orders of insects, among which the order Lepidoptera stands out. Lepidoptera are a megadiverse group, considered one of the most conspicuous and important in the world, and Colombia is one of the countries with the greatest diversity of this taxon. Considering the potential of the collections and the need to organize and make available the information about the lepidopterans, the review, organization, and classification of the specimens of the subfamily Dismorphiinae from the MHNUC Entomology Collection, was carried out. A total of 161 specimens of four genera, 14 species, and 18 subspecies belonging to this subfamily of Pieridae were found, from which analyzes on abundance, geographical distribution, and health of the collection were carried out. The analysis of the quality of the inventory established a potential richness for the department of Cauca of 21 species, a slope of the curve of 0.12, and a proportion of observed species of 40.44%, which corresponds to an estimated sampling effort of 60.95%. These data indicate that the inventory is not totally acceptable, and that a greater sampling effort is required to know the Dismorphiinae of the southwestern region of the country.