Brites-Neto José, Willmer Julian Nicholas Garcia, Delciellos Ana Cláudia
Americana City Hall, Department of Public Health, Americana, São Paulo, Brazil.
Laboratory of Vertebrates, Department of Ecology, Institute of Biology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Med Vet Entomol. 2025 Mar;39(1):115-121. doi: 10.1111/mve.12762. Epub 2024 Sep 18.
Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello (Scorpiones: Buthidae) is a scorpion endemic to Brazil adapted to synanthropic life, colonising and proliferating in the most populous urban areas in the country. Here, we evaluated its activity pattern in an urban cemetery in the municipality of Americana, state of São Paulo, Brazil. Additionally, we tested the effects of species reproduction and climatic seasons on the activity pattern. The Saudade Municipal Cemetery was sampled between 17:00 and 22:00 h during 455 nights from April 2006 to December 2013. The circular mean and the peak of activity were quantified for the total number of specimens, and for specimens with and without broods. Activity patterns were inferred using a rosette diagram. Circular analysis of variance was used to investigate if activity patterns changed across climatic seasons (wet and dry seasons). A total of 25,969 records (467 specimens with broods) were obtained in the field. The circular mean varied between 19:44 and 19:48 h, and the peak of activity occurred between 18:00 and 20:00 h for all groups. Peaks of activity differed from that recorded under laboratory conditions (between 21:00 and 23:00 h). Activity patterns did not differ for specimens with broods, suggesting that the reproductive condition does not alter the species activity pattern. The activity pattern differed between wet and dry seasons for all specimens and specimens without broods, but differences were small and probably biologically irrelevant, probably because the species tolerates a wide variation in abiotic conditions. Deepening the knowledge of the behaviour activity of T. serrulatus can have practical applications for health surveillance agencies, aiming to increase the effectiveness of scorpion control in urban areas.
锯齿脂尾蝎（Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello，蝎目：钳蝎科）是巴西特有的一种蝎子，适应与人类共生的生活方式，在该国人口最密集的城市地区定居并繁殖。在此，我们评估了其在巴西圣保罗州阿梅里卡市一个城市公墓中的活动模式。此外，我们还测试了物种繁殖和气候季节对活动模式的影响。在2006年4月至2013年12月期间的455个夜晚，于17:00至22:00对萨乌达德市立公墓进行了采样。对标本总数以及有和没有幼蝎的标本，量化了其圆形均值和活动峰值。使用玫瑰图推断活动模式。采用圆形方差分析来研究活动模式在不同气候季节（雨季和旱季）是否发生变化。在野外共获得了25969条记录（467只带有幼蝎的标本）。所有组的圆形均值在19:44至19:48之间变化，活动峰值出现在18:00至20:00之间。活动峰值与实验室条件下记录的不同（在21:00至23:00之间）。有幼蝎的标本的活动模式没有差异，这表明繁殖状况不会改变该物种的活动模式。所有标本以及没有幼蝎的标本在雨季和旱季的活动模式有所不同，但差异很小，可能在生物学上不相关，这可能是因为该物种能够耐受非生物条件的广泛变化。深入了解锯齿脂尾蝎的行为活动对健康监测机构具有实际应用价值，旨在提高城市地区蝎子控制的有效性。
