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1 December 2005 DEVELOPMENT AND LIFE TABLES OF LOXOSCELES INTERMEDIA MELLO-LEITÃO 1934 (ARANEAE, SICARIIDAE)
Marta L. Fischer, João Vasconcellos-Neto
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Abstract

Loxosceles intermedia is a medically important species that is abundant in Curitiba, Paraná State, Brazil. Knowledge of the postembryonic development of this species is fundamental for preventing bites by this species and for controlling its population size. In this report, postembryonic development (n = 212 spiderlings) was studied in the laboratory under ambient conditions of temperature and humidity with a standardized diet. The average duration of development (from emergence from the egg sac to maturity) was 356 ± 33 days (n = 189; range = 213–455). Spiders matured after 5th–8th molt, although most individuals matured after 7th molt. The sex ratio was 1:1. The mortality in the laboratory was low, most pronounced in the 4th and 5th instars and was associated mainly with molting. The longevity of females (1176 ± 478 days) was significantly longer than it was for males (557 ± 88.6 days). The abundance of L. intermedia in Curitiba, city in the southern part of Brazil, is related to aspects of its life cycle, since a slow growth, low mortality, and greater longevity enhance the reproductive potential of the species.

Marta L. Fischer and João Vasconcellos-Neto "DEVELOPMENT AND LIFE TABLES OF LOXOSCELES INTERMEDIA MELLO-LEITÃO 1934 (ARANEAE, SICARIIDAE)," The Journal of Arachnology 33(3), 758-766, (1 December 2005). https://doi.org/10.1636/S03-39.1
Received: 9 June 2003; Published: 1 December 2005
KEYWORDS
life cycle
longevity
loxoscelism
ontogeny
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