Arachnid Fauna in Three Central Florida Plant Communities

Arachnids were collected in three plant communities on the University of Central Florida campus, beginning in May of 1983 and ending in March 1984. These sites were undisturbed communities: pond pine, sand pine scrub, and flatwoods. Pitfall traps and sweep nets were used to catch arachnids every other month. A total of 2,657 arachnids were collected in pitfall traps and 4,022 in sweep nets. Spiders were the most numerous group, consisting of 87.5% of the individuals in pitfall traps and 100.0% in sweep nets. Forty-two scorpions, 41 pseudoscorpions, and 248 opilionids were captured on the ground surface. Spider diversity on both the ground surface and vegetation was greatest in pond pine, followed by sand pine scrub and then flatwoods. Similarity in spider species was greatest between pond pine and flatwoods, followed by sand pine scrub and flatwoods, and then pond pine and sand pine scrub for both ground surface and vegetation. One new species was collected in flatwoods at sites G and I. A range extension for Zora pumila was recorded in pond pine. The number of individuals collected with pitfall traps was much smaller in all three communities than those collected with sweep nets