IDENTIFICAÇÃO DE ESPÉCIES DE FORMIGAS CORTADEIRAS EM PLANTIOS DE Eucalyptus urograndis

The objectives of this work were: to identify the species of leaf-cutting ants that occur in  Eucalyptus urograndis  plantations located in the littoral region of the State of Santa Catarina; to determine the average number of formicaries per ha and the ratio of formicaries by species of existing leaf-cutting ants in the sampled areas; to correlate the existing species to the damages caused to the  Eucalyptus  plants. The experiments were carried out at the Coqueiro and Jacutinga farms, located in the municipalities of Sao Joao do Itaperiu and Sao Francisco do Sul, coastal region of Santa Catarina State, Brazil. The surveys indicated the presence of  Acromyrmex crassispinus  (FOREL, 1909),  Cyphomyrmex  sp and a non Attini species. An average of 143 and 77 formicaries per hectare were found in the sampled plots of Coqueiro and Jacutinga farms, respectively. The species  A. crassispinus  represented 33% of the observed formicaries;  Cyphomyrmex  sp. represented 40%; whereas the non Attini species represented 27%. The incidence of damages caused by leaf-cutting ants was small, mainly associated to the species  A. crassispinus .