A comparative analysis of the chemical nature of defensive secretions of Gonyleptidae (Arachnida : Opiliones : Laniatores)

The arachnids of the order Opiliones (harvestmen) produce substances used in defense. In the present paper, we analyzed 22 species of Gonyleptidae to explore the use of defensive substances in taxonomy and evolutionary biology. Thirty-seven different compounds were detected, 18 of which were preliminarily identified. These compounds were mapped onto a phylogenetic tree showing the relationships within the Gonyleptidae. Data from Cosmetidae were used as an outgroup. Five ketones and six alkyl phenols were reported for the first time in harvestmen. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mite (Acari; Arachnida) diversity of two native plants in fragments of a semideciduous seasonal forest in Brazil

Studies to determine mite species richness in natural environments are still scarce, and have been conducted mainly in tropical ecosystems. The aim of this study was to determine the species richness of mites on two common native plants in fragments of the semideciduous seasonal forest in the Northwest of São Paulo State, Brazil. In each of eight fragments, 10 specimens of Actinostemon communis (Euphorbiaceae) and 10 of Trichilia casaretti (Meliaceae) were selected and marked. In total, 124 species of mites belonging to 21 families were found on the two plants. Tarsonemidae had the highest diversity (34 species), followed by Phytoseiidae (31), Tetranychidae (9) and Tenuipalpidae (8). Species accumulation curves for the two sampled plants did not reach an asymptote, even with the large sampling effort. Hence, it is estimated that a greater sampling effort may lead to an increase in species richness compared with what was found in this study. The richness of this mite fauna suggests that preservation of these plant species is important to maintain the mite diversity in these forest fragments. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Aranhas (Arachnida, Araneae) sobre bromélias em um remanescente de Mata Atlântica no estado do Espírito Santo: associações específicas, arquitetura das bromélias e estrutura de comunidades

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influência de fragmentos de cerrado vizinhos à seringal (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) na distribuição e infecção fúngica de ácaros (Acari, Arachnida)

Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal - IBILCE

Abundância, diversidade e flutuação populacional de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) e aranhas (Arachnida: Araneae) em agroecossistemas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Efeito da infestação do ácaro Varroa destructor (Anderson e Treuman, 2000) (Arachnida : Acari : Varroidae) no desenvolvimento de abelhas africanizadas Apis mellifera (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Fragmentação florestal afeta a distribuição e ocorrência da acarofauna (Arachnida ; Acari) associada a vegetação

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Insecta e Arachnida associados ao solo: plantas herbáceas como área de refúgio visando ao controle biológico conservativo

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A rare finding of mites (Arachnida: Acari: Leeuwenhoekiidae) parasitising a whip spider (Arachnida: Amblypygi: Charinidae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Community structure of mites (Arachnida: Acari) in six rubber tree clones

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

From cuckoos to chickens: a caught-in-the-act case of host shift in feather mites (Arachnida: Acari: Psoroptoididae)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Amostragem diurna versus noturna de ácaros (Arachnida: Acari) associados a Genipa americana L. (Rubiaceae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influência de Cecropia pachystachya na incidência de ácaros (Arachnida, Acari) e de Leptopharsa heveae (Insecta, Hemiptera) em cultivo de seringueira

Cecropia pachystachya is a plant native to the states of Mato Grosso and São Paulo, usually found in rubber tree plantations. The goals of this study were to verify: a) whether the presence of C. pachystachya in rubber tree plantations influences the occurrence of mites in rubber trees; b) whether it can be used as a reservoir of predaceous mites; c) whether it serves as an alternative host for Leptopharsa heveae during the natural senescence of rubber trees. This study was conducted in two rubber tree plantations in São José do Rio Preto, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. One of them had numerous naturally growing individuals of C. pachystachya, while the other was free of spontaneous plants. We registered high richness of predaceous mites on C. pachystachya, but only 37.5% of them were found on rubber trees, which reveals low displacement rate of mites between the plants. Among the species that were common to both plants, only the predaceous Zetzellia agistzellia and the phytophagous mites Allonychus brasiliensis and Eutetranychus banksi were influenced by the presence of C. pachystachya. The incidence of L. heveae did not differ between the plantations under study and, moreover, C. pachystachya was not used as an alternative host by this insect, since no individuals were registered on its leaves during the natural senescence of rubber trees.

Chromosomal data of two pholcids (Araneae, Haplogynae): A new diploid number and the first cytogenetical record for the New World Clade

Mesobolivar luteus (Keyserling 1891) and Micropholcus fauroli (Simon 1887) specimens were collected in Ubatuba and Rio Claro, both in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Mesabolivar luteus showed 2n (male) = 15 = 14 + X and 2n (9) = 16 = 14 + XX in mitotic metaphases and 711 + X in diplotenic cells. During late prophage 1, all bivalents presented a ring shape, evidencing two chiasmata per bivalent. In this species, some diplotenic cells appear in pairs, maybe due to specific characteristics of the intercellular bridges. The metaphases 11 showed n = 7 or n = 8 = 7 + X chromosomes. Micropholcus fauroti evidenced 2n (male) = 17 = 16 + X in spermatogonial metaphases and 8II+X in diplotenic cells, with only one chiasma per bivalent, contrasting with M. luteus. In both species, all chromosomes were metacentrics. The sexual chromosome X was the largest element and appeared as a univalent during meiosis I. These are the first cytogenetical data for the genera Mesabolivar and Micropholcus. Additionally, M. luteus is the first chromosomally analyzed species of the New World clade and the observed diploid number for M. fauroti had not yet been recorded in Pholcidae.

Ecology of a stream from upper Paraná River basin inhabited by Aspidoras fuscoguttatus Nijssen & Isbrüker, 1976 (Siluriformes, Callichthyidae)

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)