From January to August 2002, collections of simuliid larvae, both in natural and anthropic substrates, were carried out biweekly in Riacho dos Padres. This study provides a local inventory of species and their relative frequencies. The area is a private property located in the Curitiba metropolitan area, and it is dedicated mainly to farming fish, rabbits, sheep, cattle, poultry and also featuring recreational activities for visitors such as horse back riding. The constant presence of vertebrate hosts and food given to the fish provided a constant supply of food resources, thus leading to a local explosion of this insect nuisance. A total of 24,021 pupae and 197,812 larvae were collected on all kinds of substrate. From the pupae, the following species and respective frequencies were identified: Simulium inaequale (55.24%), Simulium perflavum (16.81%), Simulium pertinax (13.93%), Simulium orbitale (8.03%), Simulium subnigrum (4.92%), Simulium distinctum (1.03%) and Simulium incrustatum (0.04%). The total number of larvae colonizing all substrates was also computed.
Breeding ground; Simulium; species frequency; stream