Assemblages of spiders of the herbaceous vegetation were sampled by sweeping method in two sweet orange orchards (Citrus sinensis) in the south of Brazil. Each sampled orchard is characterized by receiving a different handling type: "traditional" or "ecological". In addition it was sampled the assemblage of spiders of the orange trees of the orchard with the "ecological" handling with the beating method. A total of 3,876 spiders were collected, 2,379 in the orange trees and 1,497 in the herbaceous vegetation; 17 families and 99 species were registered; Oxyopes salticus Hentz, 1845 (Oxyopidae) was the most abundant spider in herbaceous vegetation and Sphecozone cristata Millidge, 1991 (Linyphiidae) the most abundant in the orange trees. Cursorial spiders were the most abundant guild at both herbaceous vegetation and orange trees. The araneofauna of herbaceous vegetation in the different handling orchards did not present significant differences in diversity (H'= 2.13 "ecological"; 2.24 "traditional"); the diversity was smaller in the orange trees (H'=1.95). Perhaps because of different sampling methods at different microhabitats, the Jaccard's Index indicates low similarity between assemblages (17.5%).
Araneae; Citrus sinensis; diversity; herbaceous vegetation; agroecology
