Soil Preference and Burrow Characteristics of Two Theraphosidae Species in Penang Island, Malaysia

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  Soil Preference and Burrow Characteristics of Two Theraphosidae Species in Penang Island, Malaysia Abstract Tarantulas play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance by regulating insect populations. However, little is known about the soil preferences and burrow structures of tarantulas in Malaysia. This study aims to determine the soil preference as well as the burrow structure of  Coremiocnemis cunciularia  and  Chilobrachys andersoni  from Penang Island. The soil characteristics of the soil samples collected around the burrows of  Coremiocnemis cunciularia  (n = 30) and  Chilobrachys andersoni  (n = 30) were determined using soil texture analysis. The measurements and burrow structures from adults and juveniles of  Coremiocnemis cunciularia  and  Chilobrachys andersoni  were determined. It was revealed that the moisture content and clay percentage in the soil samples around burrows of  Chilobrachys anderso...

Record of Lepidoptera and Hemiptera as a food resource of Acutisoma longipes Roewer, 1913 (Arachnida: Opiliones) in the Cerrado, Brazil

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Record of Lepidoptera and Hemiptera as a food resource of Acutisoma longipes Roewer, 1913 (Arachnida: Opiliones) in the Cerrado, Brazil

Abstract 

Harvestmen are nocturnal arachnids, commonly found in humid forests, with omnivorous feeding behavior. There are records of different taxa in the diet of these arthropods, but data is still scarce for many species, especially in Cerrado areas. Thus, the objective of the present work is to report Lepidoptera and Hemiptera in the diet of the harvestman Acutisoma longipes Roewer, 1913 (Arachnida: Opiliones), in Mata de Galeria in the Cerrado of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The records occurred randomly in the municipality of Luminárias, Minas Gerais, on October 10th and December 4th, 2023. In the first record, the species A. longipes was feeding on a moth (Lepidoptera: Erebidae). In the second record, the same species fed on a leafhopper, Mahanarva sp. (Hemiptera: Cercopidae). It was not possible to say whether these insects were preyed upon, usurped by other predators or found dead, but any of these hypotheses can be considered. This record contributes to increasing knowledge about the diet of harvestmen, especially in the Cerrado biome, where there is a need for more related studies.

Silva, Maria Luiza Simões, Igor Rodrigues de Castro, Felipe Barbosa Augusto de Freitas, Diogo Silva Vilela, Gabriel de Castro Jacques, and Marcos Magalhães de Souza. 2024. “Record of Lepidoptera and Hemiptera As a Food Resource of Acutisoma Longipes Roewer, 1913 (Arachnida; Opiliones) in the Cerrado, Brazil”. EntomoBrasilis 17 (June):e1082. https://doi.org/10.12741/ebrasilis.v17.e1082.