Publications (40) View all
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Article: Microhabitats Occupied by Loxosceles intermedia and Loxosceles laeta (Araneae: Sicariidae) in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
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ABSTRACT: A survey was done of the environments and substrata occupied by Loxosceles intermedia Mello-Leitão, 1934 and Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet, 1849) (Araneae: Sicariidae) in urban woods and anthropic constructions in Curitiba. In total, 2,099 trees, 364 decaying logs as well as stones and roots, built-up areas, and wasteland in six urban parks and 60 residences were inspected. In total, 1,775 m2 of vegetation was inspected, but spiders and their vestiges were collected only in and around buildings in urban parks and residences. L. intermedia was more common than L. laeta and occurred both indoors and outdoors, whereas L. laeta was more common indoors in wooden houses. The two species did not occur in the same microhabitats, although both preferred paper, wood, and construction materials. Spiders collected in urban parks were heavier than those collected in residences, although only males collected in urban parks were larger than those from residences. The lack of vestiges indicative of a previous occupation in the urban parks suggested that both species occupied primarily the anthropic environment where they found numerous substrata that offered thermal isolation and suitable conditions for web fixation, ecdysis, and reproduction.Journal of Medical Entomology 01/2009; · 1.76 Impact Factor -
Article: Diagnosis of the occurrence of the genus Loxosceles Heineken and Lowe, 1832 (Araneae, Sicariidae) in the municipal district of União da Vitória, Paraná.
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ABSTRACT: This paper aims to carry out a comparative evaluation of the populations of Loxosceles spp. (brown spiders) found in the municipal district of União da Vitória, Paraná. Natural and anthropic substrata were inspected in the intra- and peridomicile in urban and rural areas. Loxosceles intermedia Mello-Leitão, 1934 was present in 57% of the residences. It was not randomly distributed among the neighborhoods or the substrata and was less frequent than other species of spiders found in the same habitats. The few records of loxoscelism may be due to the small population of brown spiders in domestic habitats. Notwithstanding the seemingly adequate climatic and substratic conditions, the population growth of L. intermedia might be limited by the presence of other species inside and around houses.Biotemas. 01/2009; -
Article: Evaluation of the composition of terrestrial invertebrates in a rural area of Campina Grande do Sul, Paraná, Brazil
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ABSTRACT: The terrestrial invertebrates participate actively in the formation of the soil, and can be utilized as bioindicators of environmental disturbance. Thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the fauna composition of terrestrial invertebrates, in a rural area of Campina Grande do Sul. The collection was carried out in a single fragment of Araucaria Forest, with structurally differentiated two-point samplings, through pitfall traps. A total of 1,776 invertebrates was captured, pertaining to Arthropoda, Annelida, Mollusca and Plathyhelminthes phyla, of which Arthropoda and Hexapoda were the most representative groups. In Hexapoda, eleven orders were registered, and of those, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Collembola and Diptera were the most abundant. Although the studied fragment had been under recuperation for about 10 years after approximately 40 years of antropic interference, and was therefore surrounded by areas utilized for farming, agriculture and highways, it contained different groups of terrestrial invertebrates on wide-ranging thropic levels, which were important for the spatial structure and the composition of litterfall of the fragment.Biotemas. 01/2008; -
Article: Microhabitats occupied by Loxosceles intermedia and Loxosceles laeta (Araneae: Sicariidae) in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
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ABSTRACT: A survey was done of the environments and substrata occupied by Loxosceles intermedia Mello-Leitão, 1934 and Loxosceles laeta (Nicolet, 1849) (Araneae: Sicariidae) in urban woods and anthropic constructions in Curitiba. In total, 2,099 trees, 364 decaying logs as well as stones and roots, built-up areas, and wasteland in six urban parks and 60 residences were inspected. In total, 1,775 m2 of vegetation was inspected, but spiders and their vestiges were collected only in and around buildings in urban parks and residences. L. intermedia was more common than L. laeta and occurred both indoors and outdoors, whereas L. laeta was more common indoors in wooden houses. The two species did not occur in the same microhabitats, although both preferred paper, wood, and construction materials. Spiders collected in urban parks were heavier than those collected in residences, although only males collected in urban parks were larger than those from residences. The lack of vestiges indicative of a previous occupation in the urban parks suggested that both species occupied primarily the anthropic environment where they found numerous substrata that offered thermal isolation and suitable conditions for web fixation, ecdysis, and reproduction.Journal of Medical Entomology 10/2005; 42(5):756-65. · 1.76 Impact Factor -
Article: Distribuição das espécies do gênero Loxosceles Heinecken & Lowe, 1835 (Araneae; Sicariidae) no Estado do Paraná
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ABSTRACT: O Estado do Paraná registra anualmente uma média de 2.577 acidentes loxoscélicos por ano, logo o conhecimento da distribuição das espécies do gênero Loxosceles é extremamente importante para elaboração de ações de controle e manejo. Realizou-se o mapeamento das Loxosceles tombadas em diferentes coleções científicas. Foram registradas 1.561 aranhas, identificadas como Loxosceles intermedia (67%), Loxosceles gaucho (19,5%), Loxosceles laeta (10,8%) e Loxosceles hirsuta (2,4%), provenientes de 20 regionais de saúde e 69 municípios. Loxosceles intermedia ocorreu em todas as regiões do estado (50 municípios), enquanto Loxosceles gaucho ocorreu no norte e noroeste, (17 municípios), Loxosceles laeta no sul (13 municípios) e Loxosceles hirsuta nas regiões oeste e centro (10 municípios). No Paraná ocorrem quatro das oito espécies de Loxosceles registradas no Brasil. Estudos nos locais de incidência e levantamentos em áreas ainda não amostradas devem ser realizados, devido à importância médica que os acidentes causados por essas aranhas têm produzido.Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical. 01/2005;
