Insect damage in historic buildings of Colônia Murici - Southern Brazil

The historical buildings of Araucaria - Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) O. Kuntze 1898 (Araucariaceae) - present in the Murici Colony, municipality of São José dos Pinhais, Paraná, Brazil, illustrate the development of constructive technique and native species processing. Such knowledge, brought by European immigrants in the late nineteenth century, provided the formation of a rich collection of wooden architecture in the state. However, this patrimony is deteriorated by the action of biological agents, especially xylophagous insects. In view of this, an entomological analysis was proposed through collections made in three buildings. Specimens of Coleoptera (Curculionidae and Ptinidae), Isoptera and Lepidoptera (Tineidae) were identified. It was concluded that Coleoptera (Ptinidae) and Isoptera represent the greatest risk to the installed wood. This emphasizes the importance of the entomological evaluation as a non-destructive method of diagnostic, that contributes to the verification of the health and safety of the structures.