ABSTRACT
The objective of this work was to know the ants that occur in hospitals and health stations in Bagé,0 (RS), Brazil. Diurnal visits were made on Fridays (hospitals “A” and “B”) and Wednesdays (health stations “X” and “Y”), from March to June 2003. The active collections were made without attractive baits. In 53 samples, 269 specimens were collected belonging to 11 species and 7 genera. Acromyrmex lundi (Guérin, 1838), Brachymyrmex sp. and Camponotus sp. 1 were the most frequent. Hospital “B” presented the highest number of species (8) and of specimens (127). The hospitals presented a higher abundance of species (11) and specimens (233) if compared with the health stations (3 and 36, respectively).Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger, 1863) was present in the four sampled places. Acromyrmex heyeri (Forel, 1899), Solenopsis saevissima (Fr. Smith, 1855) and all the species of Camponotus were only registered in hospital “B,” and A. striatus (Roger, 1863), Pheidole sp. and Brachymyrmex sp., only in hospital “A.” The number of people, the proximity with green areas and the architectural structure explain the higher or lower abundance of species and specimens in the sampled places.
KEY WORDS
Urban ants; distribution; urban environment