FIRST REPORT OF THE CAPTURE OF Loxosceles laeta (ARANEAE, SICARIIDAE) IN THE WEST ZONE OF SÃO PAULO CITY, SP, BRAZIL

Andrade, R.M.G., Tambourgi, D.V.

Laboratório de Imunoquímica, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil.

Loxosceles laetais one of the brown spider species responsible for loxoscelism, the most severe form of araneism in Brazil. Loxosceles laeta is very well adapted in the anthropic environment and has the widest geographic distribution among the Loxosceles species. It is probably an endemic specie in the West area of South America, although it has been introduced in the East area, as well as in the Central and North Americas. The dispersion of Loxosceles spiders is facilitated because of their criptozoic habits. In Brazil the presence of Loxosceles laeta was registered in the states of "Paraíba" to "Rio Grande do Sul". Recently, we found several specimens of Loxosceles laeta in the West area of São Paulo City, Pirituba district, in the “Pinel Psychiatry Hospital”. This hospital has an area of 77 thousand square meters, from which 32 thousands are of forest. The spiders were captured not only in the external areas as well as in the buildings of the hospital. This is the first report of the occurrence of Loxosceles laeta in the West area of São Paulo city. The presence of L. laeta has only been, previously, registered by Bucherl in 1961, in the South area of São Paulo city, Ipiranga district. Considering that loxoscelism is an important health problem in the South region of Brazil, it is necessary to investigate the dynamic and spread of the Loxosceles laeta population in the city of São Paulo.

Supported by: FAPESP, The Wellcome Trust

CORRESPONDENCE TO:

Tambourgi D. V., Laboratório de Imunoquímica, Instituto Butantan, Av. Vital Brasil, 1500, São Paulo, SP, 05503-900, Brazil, Email: dvtambourgi@yahoo.com