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This work presents the perception of the residents of Ribeirão da Ilha, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina Island, about the insects and the distinct uses made of them. The study was carried out between August and October of 2007 through semi-structured interviews with 50 residents of the community. The ethnocategory ‘Insect’ is composed by 16 animals such as bees, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, snakes and others. This category is mostly seen negatively by the local population, or causes a sensation of fear and disgust. The knowledge about the use of insects is wide and it is related with ludic, decorative, alimentary and medicinal usages, as well as with forecasting the weather and earning money. However, nowadays only three uses are practiced by the community: consumption of honey in food, employment of bee stings to cure rheumatism, and butterflies for decoration.

This work presents the perception of the residents of Ribeirão da Ilha, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina Island, about the insects and the distinct uses made of them. The study was carried out between August and October of 2007 through semi-structured interviews with 50 residents of the community. The ethnocategory 'Insect' is composed by 16 animals such as bees, cockroaches, beetles, spiders, snakes and others. This category is mostly seen negatively by the local population, or causes a sensation of fear and disgust. The knowledge about the use of insects is wide and it is related with ludic, decorative, alimentary and medicinal usages, as well as with forecasting the weather and earning money. However, nowadays only three uses are practiced by the community: consumption of honey in food, employment of bee stings to cure rheumatism, and butterflies for decoration.

The myrmecofauna in an Atlantic Forest area was studied using various methods for soil ants and bromeliad-nesting ants. Monthly collections were performed between March 2002 and August 2004, using a Winkler extractor, pitfall traps and bromeliad individuals. One hundred and twenty-four species from nine subfamilies and 33 genera were found. The richest genera were Pheidole, Solenopsis, Crematogaster, Acromyrmex and Camponotus. More species were found in soil than in bromeliads, with 8% occurring in both habitats. Twelve species are new records for Santa Catarina State and 19 are new for the greater Florianópolis region. These results correlate with the use of new methodologies for the region, showing that the ant fauna of Santa Catarina Island still needs to be better studied.

A mirmecofauna em uma área de Mata Atlântica da Ilha de Santa Catarina foi inventariada utilizando métodos diversos para formigas de solo e de bromélias. Foram feitas amostragens mensais entre março de 2002 e agosto de 2004, utilizando o extrator de Winkler, armadilhas de interceptação e queda, além de coleta de bromélias. Foram encontradas 124 espécies, divididas em nove subfamílias e 33 gêneros. Os gêneros com maior riqueza foram Pheidole, Solenopsis, Crematogaster, Acromyrmex e Camponotus. Encontrou-se mais espécies no solo que nas bromélias, com 8% do total ocorrendo nos dois hábitats. Foram obtidos 11 registros novos para o estado de Santa Catarina e 20 para a região da Grande Florianópolis. Tais resultados estão relacionados com o uso de metodologias novas para a região, e mostram que a fauna de formigas desta ainda precisa ser mais bem estudada.