Artrópodes associados às copas de árvores de bordadura de um fragmento florestal no Cerrado Mineiro

Abstract

The Cerrado biome occupies approximately 21% of the Brazilian territory and it is one of the biomes that have a high degree of endemism of flora and fauna. As fauna components, arthropods stand out, which perform several functions in ecosystems, and can serve as bioindicators of environmental quality. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the association of arthropodofauna with treetops in an area surrounding a fragment of legal reserve, adjacent to a coffee plantation. The study was conducted at Fazenda Juliana (18º43'29 "S and 47º29'55" O), located in the municipality of Monte Carmelo - MG. The canopy net methodology was used, in which the net bag was wrapped around the branches and shaken five times, covering the four cardinal directions in the treetops of 20 trees. The content collected with the net was deposited in plastic bags, sealed, identified and taken to the laboratory. Altogether 12 collections were made, one per month, from August 2018 to July 2019, totaling 240 samples. The collected specimens were identified in taxonomic groups, with the aid of a taxonomic key, at the Forest Entomology Laboratory of the Universidade Federal de Uberlândia. In the period, 804 individuals were collected, distributed in 56 taxonomic groups belonging to the classes Arachnida and Insecta. The species Xylopia aromatica (Annonaceae) presented 50% of the sampled taxa, being the most representative. From the faunistic analysis, it was identified as predominant taxonomic groups in the area Order Araneae and the families Asilidae and Tephritidae (Diptera) and Formicidae (Hymenoptera). As potential predators, Araneae and Formicidae stand out, as they were found in all tree species sampled. Among the parasitoids, the Braconidae and Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera) families stand out. It is concluded that the maintenance of the legal reserve and permanent preservation areas keeps tree species with the potential to generate a survival site for natural enemies and other canopy arthropods.