Distribution and importance of spiders inhabiting a Brazilian sugar cane plantation

Abstract

ABSTRACT. The spider fauna (Araneae) of a sugar cane plantation was surveyed monthly by hand collection and beating vegetation in sugar cane fields across Botucatu, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Composition and richness (family and species where identification to species was possible) microhabitat preferences were recorded, and diversity and evenness indices were calculated. A total of 1291 spiders belonging to 73 species and 20 families were collected. The most diverse families were Theridiidae, Salticidae, and Araneidae, and the most abundant ones were Theridiidae, Salticidae, Anyphaenidae, and Araneidae. Seven species represented 58.6% of the total fauna, with Crysso pulcherrima (Mello-Leitão, 1917) (Theridiidae) composing 28.2%. About 65% of the spiders occupied the upper part of the plants (above 20 cm). Five spider species were present in the sugar cane throughout crop development. Evidence of spiders feeding on sugar cane pest species was observed.

Geographic Range, Habitats, and Host Plants of Bromeliad‐living Jumping Spiders (Salticidae)1

“…Although P. vellutinus inhabited type‐N bromeliads ( Bromelia and Ananas ), this species also occurred at a high frequency on other monocotyledonous plants, especially sugarcane. In other studies, several individuals of P. vellutinus were collected on sugarcane (Rinaldi & Forti 1997, Rinaldi et al . 2002).…”

“… Source: e Rossa‐Feres et al . (2000), f Romero & Vasconcellos‐Neto (2005a,b,c), g Höfer & Brescovit (1994), h Rinaldi & Forti (1997), Rinaldi et al . (2002), i Romero & Vasconcellos‐Neto (2004b), j Lise & Braul‐Jr.…”

Diversity of Social Wasps on Semideciduous Seasonal Forest Fragments with Different Surrounding Matrix in Brazil

“…There are few data comparing areas with these two surrounding matrices and their possible effects to the biota. Rinaldi et al [20] found a surprisingly high richness of spiders on sugarcane plantations. Ott et al [21] sampled spiders on herbaceous vegetation in two different citrus orchards, "traditional" and "ecological," and despite the differences in cultivation practices, they found a lower richness than Rinaldi et al [20].…”

“…Ott et al [21] sampled spiders on herbaceous vegetation in two different citrus orchards, "traditional" and "ecological," and despite the differences in cultivation practices, they found a lower richness than Rinaldi et al [20]. Ott et al [21] also did a survey on citrus trees of the "ecological" orchard, and there they found a greater richness of spiders species than Rinaldi et al [20].…”

<htm>Assembléias de aranhas em manchas de cerrado amplamente separadas no Estado de São Paulo, Brasil</htm>

“…Although many spider species tend to occur across a wide range of habitats, associations among species seem to vary in a predictable manner across different vegetation types (TURNBULL, 1973;UETZ, HAJAJ & CADY, 1999). Studies conducted in various agricultural systems have shown that spiders are not randomly distributed in this habitat (TOPPING & LÖVEI, 1997;SAMU, SUNDERLAND & SZINETÁR, 1999;HALAJ, CADY & UETZ, 2000b;RINALDI, PRADO & CADY, 2002). The occurrence of spider species in species of plants localized in patches distant geographically, is an interesting situation for analyze the association between spiders and vegetation.…”