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Population dynamics of the araneid fauna from district Gujranwala, Pakistan
Abstract
The density of spiders throughout the growth period of rice and sugarcane was investigated using two types of sampling methods (pitfall traps and hand picking) every week from March to October, 2010. A total of 178 araneid fauna belonged to seven families, 10 genera and 22 species were recorded. The Lycosidae (111) was the most common family whereas specimens holding Oxyopidae (2) family found least common among all the families. The Lycosidae was represented by nine species where as Oxyopidae by one. Maximum specimens were gathered in the month of June (37) when relative humidity (%) and rain fall were 61.4±3.25 and 40±6.01mm respectively followed by April (34) and May (33). Ecological parameters i.e. species richness (R), Shannon diversity index (H), Pielous's Evenness Index (E) and Simpson Diversity Index (D) were 28.14, 2.67, 0.92 and 0.93 at Locality-I and 29.43, 2.69, 0.91, and 0.93 at Locality-II, respectively. Proportional Index of Community Similarity (PS) for both Localities was 64.05%.
... In the un-sprayed fields of cotton 480 araneid fauna were collected and identified belonged to Lycosidae (338) and Thomisidae (142) families as compared to both families (243) (Lycosidae,175; Thomisidae,68) from sprayed fields. The studies showed that the in order to observe the efficiency of spiders as biological control of pest avoid the applications of pesticides otherwise may killed the beneficial insects and required results can not be achieved and may cause the loss of economic benefits (Ghafoor et al., 2011). From the un-sprayed fields 338 specimens of Lycosidae family were collected which were similar to the findings of Alvi, (2007) who collected 334 (32%) of the total capture. ...
... Findings were not in agreement with Maqsood (2011) who identified lycosids 29.20% of total 254 captures. From sprayed fields In July (58) capture was double than found by Ghafoor et al. (2011) from the cotton fields. In the current study peak population was observed in the last days of July (13) and at very early days of August (13-14). ...
An experiment on recording the predatory spiders from sprayed and unsprayed cotton grown at Agriculture Research Institute Tandojam was carried out during July-September 2008. The results revealed that seven species of predatory spiders were recorded from cotton and identified first time from Sindh. Lycosidae (513) and Thomisidae (210) families comprised of Lycosa tista, L. kempi, L. machenziei and Pardosa berminica and Thomisus projectus, T. bulani and Thomisus sp. Total capture in the months of July, august and September were 164 (24.94±2.24 o C, 78.86±4.40%R.H.), 444 (22.5±1.28 O C, 79.33±4.40%R.H.) and 98 (22.93±2.30 O C, 72.16±2.30%R.H.) respectively. From un-sprayed venue maximum predatory spiders plant-1 were P. birminica (6.65±0.51) followed by Thomisus sp (4.23) and L. tista (2.42±0.31). Similarly from sprayed fields were P. berminica (3.12±0.35) followed by Thomisus sp (2.35±0.30) and L. tista (1.46±0.20). In the month of July spiders plant-1 were 2.94±0.22 when temperature and R.H. were 24.94 o C and 78.6% respectively. Similarly in the month of August and September were 2.86±0.180 (22.5±1.28 o C, 79.33±4.40% R.H.) (r = 0.670**) and 1.45=0.34 (22.93±2.30 o C, 72.16±2.30%R.H.) (r = 0.477**).
... In the un-sprayed fields of cotton 480 araneid fauna were collected and identified belonged to Lycosidae (338) and Thomisidae (142) families as compared to both families (243) (Lycosidae,175; Thomisidae,68) from sprayed fields. The studies showed that the in order to observe the efficiency of spiders as biological control of pest avoid the applications of pesticides otherwise may killed the beneficial insects and required results can not be achieved and may cause the loss of economic benefits (Ghafoor et al., 2011). From the un-sprayed fields 338 specimens of Lycosidae family were collected which were similar to the findings of Alvi, (2007) who collected 334 (32%) of the total capture. ...
... Maximum specimens were observed in the month of August when temperature (25 o C) and R.H. (80%) both were high as compared to temperature 24.9 o C, 23.0 o C and R.H. 78%, 72% in the months of July and September respectively. Present findings were not in accordance with Ghafoo et al. (2011) Ghafoor et al. (2011) from the cotton fields. In the current study peak population was observed in the last days of July (13) and at very early days of August (13-14). ...
An experiment on recording the predatory spiders from sprayed and unsprayed cotton grown at Agriculture Research Institute Tandojam was carried out during July-September 2008. The results revealed that seven species of predatory spiders were recorded from cotton and identified first time from Sindh. Lycosidae (513) and Thomisidae (210) families comprised of Lycosa tista, L. kempi, L. machenziei and Pardosa berminica and Thomisus projectus, T. bulani and Thomisus sp. Total capture in the months of July, august and September were 164 (24.94±2.24 °C, 78.86±4.40%R.H.), 444 (22.5±1.28 °C, 79.33±4.40%R.H.) and 98 (22.93±2.30 °C, 72.16±2.30%R.H.) respectively. From un-sprayed venue maximum predatory spiders/plant were P. birminica (6.65±0.51) followed by Thomisus sp (4.23) and L. tista (2.42±0.31). Similarly from sprayed fields were P. berminica (3.12±0.35) followed by Thomisus sp (2.35±0.30) and L. tista (1.46±0.20). In the month of July spiders plant -1 were 2.94±0.22 when temperature and R.H. were 24.94 °C and 78.6% respectively. Similarly in the month of August and September were 2.86±0.180 (22.5±1.28 °C, 79.33±4.40% R.H.) (r = 0.670**) and 1.45=0.34 (22.93±2.30 °C, 72.16±2.30%R.H.) (r = 0.477**).
... As Pianka (1966) hypothesized, crop development improves prey availability, allowing more spider species to exist. In two years of research, the evenness value (E) in the rice ecosystem at Gujranwala, Pakistan (Ghafoor and Mahmood 2011), 0.69 to 0.72 at different growth stages in rice from three districts in Bihar (Goswami et al., 2015), and 0.59-0.72 in rice at Hyderabad were found in published literature (Anitha et al., 2019). The current observations are completely consistent with the findings of the previous authors. ...
Spiders can be found all over the world, and with the irregularity of air and sea colonization, they have established themselves in virtually every habitat. They are effective crop pest predators due to their prey-finding ability and polyphagy. Spiders are obligate carnivores and are the only arthropod group that is entirely predatory. Predation helps to keep insect populations in check. Consequently, during Kharif 2018-2019 and Kharif 2019-20, the diversity of spider fauna (Arachnida: Araneae) in the rice agro-ecosystem was investigated at the Central Research Station, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, Bhubaneswar. Using various sampling methods, 622 spider specimens from 9 species, 7 genera, and 4 families were collected from the rice ecosystem in Bhubaneswar. Species richness (S), Shannon diversity index (H'), Evenness index (E), Simpson index (D), and effective number of species were used to assess spider species diversity at different growth stages in rice (ENS). The spider species richness increased gradually with the crop's growth stages, peaking at the ripening stage (6.8). At the reproductive and ripening phases, higher values of diversity indices, such as Shannon diversity index (H') (1.76) and evenness index (E) (0.92), revealed a more homogeneous distribution pattern of species, resulting in a higher diversity of spider species. Further, lower values of the Simpson index (D) (0.11) at ripening stage gave an indication that the ecosystem was well protected from any disturbances, along with the presence of some rare spider species.
... Pakistan has diverse habitat and rich in spider but no solid account of spiders still exists [2]. Make all citation in blue color or follow journal formate The various Localities occupied by the spider are soil, houses, forests, meadows, woodlands, croplands, and the petals of flowers and even they may have adopted amphibious life [3]. Spiders are carnivorous and have the ability of devouring large quantity of food [4]. ...
Spiders are ancient invertebrate belonging to class Arachnida, Order Araneae in Phylum Arthropoda. It is a diverse group of organisms that play a vital role in biological control. Present study was conducted in different areas of Dir Lower to find out the biodiversity of order Araneae. Spiders were collected from April 2018 to July 2019 by using different methods including Aerial hand collection, Ground hand beating, Hand picking, Pitfall traps and by Beat sheet method. Spiders were then preserved in 80% ethanol for morphological study and were identified to specie level by using available literature. Identified families are (Salticidae, Araneidae, Sparassidae, Scytodidae, Erisidae, Thomisidae), genera are (Plexippus, Hasarius, Araneus, Olios, Scytodes, Stegodyphus and Thomisus) and species are (Plexippus paykulli, Hasarius adonsoni, Araneus mitificus, Olios stimulator, Scytodes thoracica, Stegodyphus sarasinorum, Thomisus zaheeri Crossopriza lyoni). Most dominant family was Salticidae. The diversity of spiders in Dir lower is not explored yet and very little information's are there about the systematics, ecology and diversity. Most of the species are recorded for the first time from the area while Hasarius adonsoni, Olios stimulator, Stegodyphus sarasinorum and Scytodes thoracica are recorded for the 1 st time from Pakistan. This study will serve as a base for further exploration of the fauna of spiders in Dir Lower and Pakistan.
... The family Tetragnathidae or long jawed spiders showed the maximum species richness with five different species, while the family Thomisidae or crab spiders were represented only by a single species. Contrary to the present findings, spider samples collected from rice and sugarcane plots in Punjab province of Pakistan revealed Lycosidae as the most common family which was represented by nine species (Ghafoor and Mahmood, 2011).Variations in species numbers and proportion of the araneid distribution groups are attributable to varied habitat environmental factors (Yan, 1991). As a result, faunistic of rice fields spiders exhibit significant differences among regions, farmland habitats and agricultural practices (Yang et al., 2018). ...
Aim: Analyzing the community structure of predatory spider fauna in rice ecosystems to facilitate conservation biological control and sustainable pest
management programmes.
Methodology: The spiders were collected from rice field with cultivated variety (MTU-7029) during both Kharif and Rabi seasons at different rice growth
stages. The spiders collected by various sampling
methods such as direct catch in polythene carry
bags, ground collection and foliage collection were
kept in collection bottles and killed by inserting a
strip of cotton dipped in chloroform and transferred
separately on a white sheet of paper. Thereafter,
using a stereo zoom microscope (ZEISS Stemi
508), the spiders were sorted, separated, counted,
identified based on the available keys and literature
described by Tikader (1987) and Barrion and
Litsinger (1995). The unidentified samples were
sent to the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for
authorized identification.
Results: In total, sixteen different species of
predatory spiders belonging to six families of order
Araneae and representing four functional/foraging
guilds were identified in the rice ecosystem of Sub-
Himalayan Terai region of West Bengal. These included Lycosa pseudoannulata Boesenberg & Strand and Arctosa tanakai Barrion & Litsinger; Oxyopes
lineatipes C.L. Koch, Oxyopes javanus Thorell and Oxyopes salticus Hentz; Bianor sp. and Hasarius adansoni Audouin, while the family Thomisidae was
represented by a single species Thomisius sp. All these eight species constituted the non web former group of spiders. The web weaving spiders
recorded were Tetragnatha maxillosa Thorell, Tetragnatha mandibulata Walckenaer. Tetragnatha javana Thorell, Leucage decorate Walckenaer,
Leucage celesbesiana Walckenaer and Neoscona theisi Walckenaer, Neoscona mukerjei Tikader, Araneus sp.
Interpretation: The lynx spiders (Oxyopidae) were found to be the most dominant group by individual numbers, followed by the wolf spiders (Lycosidae),
however, considering the species richness, the long jawed spiders (Tetragnathidae) were in large number with five different species. Good agricultural
practices along with habitat diversification of landscapes are imperative for enhancing the predation by rice field spiders.
Key words: Dominance, Foraging guilds, Predatory spiders, Rice, Species richness, Terai region
... The most dominant family was Lycosidae while higher numbers of spider specimens were in Gnaphosidae. In Gujranwala Pakistan, 178 spiders were collected belonging to 7 families, 10 genera and 22 species from fields of guava (Ghafoor and Mahmood, 2011). Environment factors like different seasons also have a great effect on spider occurrence.Our results are similar to studies byRiechert and Bishop (1990) that fluctuations in climate affect the occurrence of spiders. ...
The article explored the Biodiversity of different types of Spider Species fauna in district Charsadda.
... Pakistan has diverse habitat and rich in spider but no solid account of spiders still exists [2]. Make all citation in blue color or follow journal formate The various Localities occupied by the spider are soil, houses, forests, meadows, woodlands, croplands, and the petals of flowers and even they may have adopted amphibious life [3]. Spiders are carnivorous and have the ability of devouring large quantity of food [4]. ...
... Information on predators displayed that various spiders found in cropping system having a potential to predate on bollworms. If someone wants, spiders to be an active predator against chewing worms, then avoid the pesticide application as pesticide not only harmful for unwanted pests but it is very dangerous for wanted insect pests as well like as spiders and enhance the economic loss (Ghafoor et al., 2011) [7] . Present investigation showed that temperature is having negative correlation which means that as the temperature increases spider number decreases which are contrary to the work done by Ghafoor et al., 2002 [8] , their investigation on predatory spider explained that as the temperature increases their numbers also increases. ...
Relationship between American Bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera. H) and four different species i.e. Araneus mitificus (Kidney spider garden), Plaxipus paykulli (Jumping spider), Thomisus pugilis (crab spider) and Hippasa holemerae (wolf spider) was evaluated in laboratory in free choice and no choice feeding assays. In free choice feeding assays, the consumption of fifth larval instar (27.13±2.8) by wolf spider was statistically high followed by crab spider i.e. (12.8±0.39). In no choice assay all spider species in current study preferred to feed on fifth larval instar of American bollworm. Spiders showed positive correlation with wind and humidity i.e. 0.0233 and 0.1619 respectively while it is negatively correlated with temperature (-0.379) in field conditions. Results of present study revealed predatory potential of these spider species against H. armigera larval instar, which shows spider could be a best biological control agent for this insect pest.
... Total collected fauna were 178 which belong to seven families, 10 genera, 22 species recorded. Most abundant species belong to the family Lycosidae [20] . Tahir and coworkers reported 1098 spider fauna from citrus field in 2006 and 2007. ...
The current study was conducted at the University of Gujrat during 2015. The data concerning "check list of spider (Araneae) fauna of Pakistan" reviewed and compiled as a review paper from published articles of international regarded journals, Annual/Environmental Reports of documented organization. Spiders are diverse group of invertebrates that play vital role in the ecosystem; there is co-evolutionary relationship between spiders and insect pest. They act as biological control in every agri-ecosystem. For efficient sampling of spiders detailed ecological knowledge and information is lacking. This paper highlights the biodiversity of spider fauna in different regions of Pakistan. There is dire need to explore the spider fauna of Pakistan and conservation to save the spiders as they are beneficial creature and play their great role in ecosystem and food chains, insect population regulation.
... he approximately to 1%. Previously Bukhari et al. (2012) studied cotton fields in the Faisalabad district. They documented overall 21 spider species. Of which most dominant species e.g., Lycosa madani, Pardosa birmanica, Pardosa oakleyi, Lycosa kempi, Hippasa holmerae and Plexipus bengalensis were distributed in Lycosidae family like present study.Ghafoor and Mahmood (2011) captured 22 spider species from rice and sugarcane from district Gujranwala, Pakistan. However, the number of spider species remains low as compared to present work, which might be due to the difference in sampling method, number, kind and heterogeneity level of sampled agricultural crop. Whereas,Rodrigues et al. (2009) reported 85 spid ...
... while Evenness index ranged between 0.69-0.72 at different growth stages of rice crop in three districts of Bihar. Ghafoor and Mahmood (2011) compared the Araneid diversity of Gujranwala with that of Kamoki area in Pakistan and found that Margelef index ranged between 28.14-29.43, Shannon Diversity index was 2.67-2.69, ...
The effective prey searching ability and polyphagy of spiders makes them important predators of crop pests. 19 species of spiders have been recorded in rice ecosystem (Rajeswaran et al., 2005). There is now a growing need to conserve all species and not only the large vertebrates (Samways, 1990) and contribute to the natural biological process. However, literature pertaining to their abundance and diversity in rice crop in Rajendranagar area is scant. Hence, the p resent study was conducted to understand their abundance and diversity. Spider samples were collected from rice fields of Rajendranagar in kharif and rabi seasons of 2011-12 and 2012-13. A total of 2,094 individuals collected in kharif represented eight families with a density of 12.48/sq.m. Members of Tetragnathidae were recorded most abundantly in kharif (46.32% of the Arachnid population) followed by Lycosids (26.22%). In rabi 1,095 spiders of seven families were collected with a density of 6.38/sq.m. Tetragnathidae andLycosidae were the most abundantly found species in rabi also comprising 27.85% and 26.12% of Arachnid population respectively. Study of guild composition was also carried out. A t-test between indices of richness, diversity, effective no.of species and species evenness of kharif and rabi seasons revealed that there were no significant differences with respect to these parameters (p>0.05) indicating that spider diversity of rice in Rajendranagar was more or less same between kharif and rabi seasons. This is the first study on the spider diversity of rice ecosystem of Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, India.
... the approximately to 1%. PreviouslyBukhari et al. (2012) studied cotton fields in the Faisalabad district. They documented overall 21 spider species. Of which most dominant species e.g., Lycosa madani, Pardosa birmanica, Pardosa oakleyi, Lycosa kempi, Hippasa holmerae and Plexipus bengalensis were distributed in Lycosidae family like present study.Ghafoor and Mahmood (2011) captured 22 spider species from rice and sugarcane from district Gujranwala, Pakistan. However, the number of spider species remains low as compared to present work, which might be due to the difference in sampling method, number, kind and heterogeneity level of sampled agricultural crop. Whereas,Rodrigues et al. (2009) reported 85 spid ...
Three commonly cultivated oilseed crops viz., soybean, sunflower and Indian mustard were sampled to compare density and diversity of spider at different developmental stages. This study was conducted at Ayub Agriculture Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan. A total of 1210 spider individuals, 68 species and 5 families were sampled throughout the study period. The families showed different levels of association with the crops, like Lycosidae and Clubionidae were found commonly spread and highly abundant, whereas Philodromidae was only restricted to sunflower and locally rare. The Evippa sohani, Pardosa fletcheri, Evippa shivajii and Pardosa oakleyi were recorded most dominant and commonly spread spider species. Indian mustard constituted highest diversity of spider species followed by soybean and sunflower. Spider species diversity on the Indian mustard was significantly different from the sunflower. These predator species can play a major role to suppress devastating agricultural pests of oilseed crops, thereby enhance the crop yield.
... Total collected fauna were 178 which belong to seven families, 10 genera, 22 species recorded. Most abundant species belong to the family Lycosidae [20] . Tahir and coworkers reported 1098 spider fauna from citrus field in 2006 and 2007. ...
The current study was conducted at the University of Gujrat during 2015. The data concerning “check list of spider (Araneae) fauna of Pakistan” reviewed and compiled as a review paper from published articles of international regarded journals, Annual/Environmental Reports of documented organization. Spiders are diverse group of invertebrates that play vital role in the ecosystem; there is co-evolutionary relationship between spiders and insect pest. They act as biological control in every agri-ecosystem. For efficient sampling of spiders detailed ecological knowledge and information is lacking. This paper highlights the biodiversity of spider fauna in different regions of Pakistan. There is dire need to explore the spider fauna of Pakistan and conservation to save the spiders as they are beneficial creature and play their great role in ecosystem and food chains, insect population regulation.
... Role of spiders for biological control of insect pests of cotton were studied by many researchers (Ghafoor, 2002;Ghafoor et al., 2011;Alvi, 2007, Maqsood, 2011Rajeswaran et al., 2005;Gustavo and Joas, 3003). Sebastian and Sudhikumar (2003) evaluated feeding potential of fourteen predatory spider species of cotton in laboratory on Aphis craccivora infesting cotton. ...
A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the predatory efficiency of aranied fauna against the insect pests of cotton. Predatory spider species collected from cotton fields were Lycosa tista, L. kempi, L. machenziei and Pardosa berminica and Thomisus projectus, T. bulani and Thomisus sp and their preys were adult and nymphs of jassid, white flies and jassid. Predator L. tista consumed 12.80 (19.21) adult and 17.0 (21.25%) nymphs jassid out of total consumption of adult jassid (66.60) and nymph jassid (79.7) whereas L. kempi consumed 12.80 (19.21%) white flies and 10.60 (25.80%) thrips. Predatory spider T. projectus showed least intention for consumption of 6.0 (9.0%) adults and 6.40 (8.0%) nymph jassid. White flies and thrips were consumed 3.80 (5.01%) and 3.20 7.61% by the T. bulani and T. projectus. The maximum nymph jassid (79.40) were consumed by all predatory spiders. Overall the highest consumption was observed in L. kempi (56) followed by P. birminica (53) and Thomisus sp (47). The current findings revealed that aranied fauna as an efficient predator of jassid could be used for the suppression of insect pests of cotton.
... Through biological control, we can not only control insect pests, but also save a worth of foreign exchange used to purchase pesticides (Ghafoor et al., 2011). ...
The current experiment was conducted to find out the optimal conditions for mass rearing and developmental changes of Cyclosainsulana. The lab conditions were maintained at (27±2)℃ and (65±5)% RH. The clear perplex cages and natural diet consisting of the aphids, larvae of the house fly and larvae of drosophila were used for rearing. C. insulana took (123.12±7.26) days to develop from egg to adult passing through eight instars under prevailing vivo conditions. The eggs were greenish white in color with average size of 0.57 mm ±0.034. The eggs spent (7.52±1.64) days in emergence. Maximum number of spiderlings survived at the 5th instar (84%) and minimum at the 1st instar (34%). The measurements of different body parts including the total body length, cephalothorax and pedipalps of the both male and female C. insulana were done with the help of micrometer and presented as mean± SD. The measurements varied in the each developing instar. It was concluded that spiders were difficult to rear in the laboratory conditions and each developing stage which was regarded as instars showed variations in size color and body characteristics.
... It was not surprising that there was positive correlation between spider abundance and temperature. Increase in temperature and humidity favors spider population (Ghafoor and Mahmood, 2011). High abundance of spiders during the months of March and April might also because pest flush hit the highest point during these months resulting in availability of more food for predators (Vetter et al., 2013). ...
Citrus leaf miner, citrus whitefly and citrus psylla are the major insect pests of citrus orchards in district Sargodha, Pakistan. Spiders, being natural predators are helpful to keep the insect pest populations below economic enjoy level. The diversity and guild structure of spiders in the citrus orchards was recorded in the study. Seasonal dynamics of spiders and insect pests and predator-pest (spider-pest) relationships were also studied. In total, 2665 spiders belonging to 12 families, 23 genera and 43 species were captured. Species and family composition of spiders varied on the foliage and ground. Abundance of spiders among sites differed significantly. However, nonsignificant difference was observed in the richness, diversity and evenness among sites. Abundance and infestation of pest was found to synchronize with the abundance of spiders. Maximum infestation of citrus leaf miner, citrus whitefly and citrus psylla was recorded in March, 2014 supporting maximum spider abundance in this month. There was strong positive correlation between abundance of insect pests and predators (spiders) which suggested that spiders could effectively control insect pest populations in the field.
... So, IPM program needs to be encouraged (Biswas, 1996;Butt and Sherawat, 2012). Ecological diversity plays very important role in natural control (Huffaker, 1975;Khuhro et al., 2012).Through biological control, we can not only control insect pests, but also save a worth of foreign exchange used to purchase pesticides (Ghafoor et al., 2011).Spiders fall within the general area of the natural control forces which feed almost specifically on insects and form one of the most important groups of predatory organisms (Khuhro et al., 2012). ...
Muhammad Saleem Khan (1985-), male, Ph. D, engaged in the research of zoology.
... Slow movement and less resistance offered great advantages to predators. Role of spiders for biological control of insect pests of cotton were studied by many researchers (Ghafoor, 2002; Ghafoor et al., 2011; Alvi, 2007, Maqsood, 2011 Rajeswaran et al., 2005; Gustavo and Joas, 3003). Sebastian and Sudhikumar (2003) evaluated feeding potential of fourteen predatory spider species of cotton in laboratory on Aphis craccivora infesting cotton. ...
A laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the predatory efficiency of aranied fauna against the insect pests of cotton. Predatory spider species collected from cotton fields were Lycosa tista, L. kempi, L. machenziei and Pardosa berminica and Thomisus projectus, T. bulani and Thomisus sp and their preys were adult and nymphs of jassid, white flies and thrip. Predator L. tista consumed 12.80 (19.21) adult and 17.0 (21.25%) nymphs jassid out of total consumption of adult jassid (66.60) and nymph jassid (79.7) whereas L. kempi consumed 12.80 (19.21%) white flies and 10.60 (25.80%) thrips. Predatory spider T. projectus showed least intention for consumption of 6.0 (9.0%) adults and 6.40 (8.0%) nymph jassid. White flies and thrips were consumed 3.80 (5.01%) and 3.20 7.61% by the T. bulani and T. projectus. The maximum nymph jassid (79.40) were consumed by all predatory spiders. Overall the highest consumption was observed in L. kempi (56) followed by P. birminica (53) and Thomisus sp (47). The current findings revealed that aranied fauna as an efficient predator of jassid could be used for the suppression of insect pests of cotton.
Spiders are invertebrates belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, and order Araneae. Arachnids are one among the largest and most diverse groups, with 129 families, 4234 genera and 49,773 species. Spiders are carnivorous and polyphagous in nature. They are most effective against pests. This study was carried out to examine the arachnoid fauna status and diversity in Talash Valley, Lower Dir district of KPK. Spiders were collected from different parts of the study area. The surveyed period wss from April to July 2022 and was done by hand picking and beet crushing method. Most spiders are collected by hand. The collected samples were then stored in 70% ethanol solution. Spiders are identified with the help of available information. A total of 10 families were identified. These are Salticidae, Lycosidae, Sparassidae, Pholcidae, Hersilidae, Gnaphosidae, Oxyopidae, Araneidae, Scytodidae and Therididae. The dominant families in this study are salicidae with three species, lycosidae and sparassidae with two species each, and seven other families with one species each.
Spiders are invertebrates belonging to the phylum Arthropoda, class Arachnida, and order Araneae. Arachnids are one among the largest and most diverse groups, with 129 families, 4234 genera and 49,773 species. Spiders are carnivorous and polyphagous in nature. They are most effective against pests. This study was carried out to examine the arachnoid fauna status and diversity in Talash Valley, Lower Dir district of KPK. Spiders were collected from different parts of the study area. The surveyed period wss from April to July 2022 and was done by hand picking and beet crushing method. Most spiders are collected by hand. The collected samples were then stored in 70% ethanol solution. Spiders are identified with the help of available information. A total of 10 families were identified. These are Salticidae, Lycosidae, Sparassidae, Pholcidae, Hersilidae, Gnaphosidae, Oxyopidae, Araneidae, Scytodidae and Therididae. The dominant families in this study are salicidae with three species, lycosidae and sparassidae with two species each, and seven other families with one species each.
Spiders belong to the class Arachnida and like all arachnids; spiders have just two body parts, a cephalothorax and an abdomen. They provide an important service to the farmers, keeping insect populations under control. It is the first approach in this region, to study the spider fauna, thus providing base line information for future studies. The spotted spider specimens were photographed and left in the same environment without disturbing it. A total of 14 species of spiders under 13 genera and 9 families were recorded during the four months survey in cultivated regions of Kuttalam. Spiders normally build nests for their living habits for dwelling as well as catching prey, which traps in their nests. This is only the baseline study, but a long-term inventory will fulfill the lacunae in the Cauvery Delta region.
Present study was carried out to investigate the variation in web architecture of Larinia chloris (Audouin 1826) in relation to seasonal differences and the biotic factors of the environment. In addition, relative abundance, behavior, and predatory potential of L. chloris were also recorded. For this purpose, 100 orb-webs of L. chloris were observed in rice fields (August-October, 2022) from 3 districts of Punjab (Lahore, Sheikhupura, and Kasur). Percent abundance of L. chloriswas found to be highest in rice fields from Barki road, Lahore (39.53%). All the webs of L. chloris were vertical at height equal to the height of vegetation (115.2 ± 9.7 cm). Time required to complete the web was 45 ± 5 min. There was positive correlation between web architecture and vegetation height. Web capture area and average mesh height of L. chloris also showed positive correlation with carapace length. There was a significant difference in various web parameters (number of spirals, number of radii, capture area, average mesh height, upper radii, lower radii, left radii, and right radii) among different trapping months. A total of 1,326 insects were recorded from the 100 webs of L. chloris. The prey abundance was found to be highest in the fields from Barki Road, Lahore. The majority of the prey collected from webs of L. chloris belonged to order Diptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. However, prey items recorded during different growth stages (from vegetative to ripening) varied significantly. This is the first ever report describing the ecology of L. chloris in rice fields from Punjab, Pakistan.
Among the varied aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate diversity of mangrove ecosystem, spiders are considered to be an important bioindicators of ecological health. Studies on the spider diversity in the mangroves at Vikhroli, Mumbai, Maharashtra conducted resulted in the documentation of a total of 38 spider species belonging to the 33 genera under 12 families. Salticidae was found to be the dominant with 10 species from 10 genera, followed by Araneidae (9 species and 7 genera). The survey done in three mangrove zones revealed that zone II with moderate mangrove density resulted in the highest diversity (H=0.89) of spiders. Guild structure analysis revealed six different guilds. Stalkers (Salticidae and Oxyopidae) were the predominant feeding guild (34.00%). Seasonal (pre monsoon, monsoon and post monsoon) analysis showed more species diversity in the month of June to September.
Production of cotton is restricted by pest infestation causing deterioration in lint quality. Spiders being generalist predators regulate insect populations. Bio diversity and relative abundance of spiders as predator as well as feeding niches of nine co-existing spider species in cotton were computed and compared for the niche breadth; niche and specific overlaps. A comparative niche analysis providing insight to the community structure is a prerequisite to observe the predation impact of spiders. Overall 320 spider predators captured belong to six families, ten genera and twenty four species. Nine species constitute 85.6% of total spider predators fauna belong to Araneidae, Oxyopidae, Salticidae and Thomisidae. Maximum predator population was observed in September 31.7% of total and lowest observed in July 8.75%. Neoscona mukerji was found in order 19.3 % to total synoptic species followed by Oxyopes bermanicus 16.7%, O. wroughtoni 13.5 %, O. javanus 11.3 %, Neoscona theis 10.2 %, Runcinia albostriata 9.2 %, O. hindustanicus 7.2 %, Marpisa tigrina 6.5 % and O. tineatipes forming 5.8 % respectively. The maximum spider diet comprise insect orders Hemiptera 0.28 % followed by Diptera 0.20 %, Hymenoptera 0.13 %, Orthoptera 0.10 %, Lepidoptera , 0.06 %, Odonata 0.04 %, Coleoptera , 0.05 %, Thysonoptera 0.05 %, and lastly Araneae 0.04 %. The utilization curve of Neoscona mukerji reflects major component of its diet comprised order Hemiptera, Diptera , and Hymenoptera i.e. 83% where as other insect order represent only 17%. The estimates of niche breadth reflects that Neoscona mukerji has reduced value and predates only three insect orders as diet which confirmed it is specialist predator in cotton. The Levinꞌs diet overlap estimates represent the pair comprisig of O. wroughtoni with O. Javanus,pair O. wroughtoni with O. hindustanicµs and pair O. tineatipes with M. tigrina, pair O. hindustanicus with R. albostriata and pair R. albostriata with O. tineatipes has complete overlap. Sixteen pairs signify complete overlap test on one another during present study out of thirty-six pairs and use same resources i.e. prey items while remaining twenty three pairs represent no complete overlap and use different resources.
Abstract:
Current study was conducted at University of Balochistan during 2018. The data involving check list of spider fauna of Pakistan was reviewed and compiled as a review paper from published articles. Spider act as biological control in every agro-ecosystem. The occurrence of spider Fauna in Pakistan as well as a brief summary is presented in this research, revealed 249 species belonging to 32 families, 80 genera from different regions of Pakistan, from Sindh 132 species, Punjab 111 species, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 90 species and from Gilgit Baltistan 29 species were recorded. The most dominant families were Arachnida, Lycosidae, and Salticidae.
Keywords: Spider fauna, Arthropods.
Spiders play integral ecological favor for regulating integrated pest management population. Despites, there is restricted research data on the species richness, evenness and relative abundance in Faisalabad, Pakistan .Abundance of spiders were captured by pitfall, hand picking, foliage sampling and beat netting. We sampled seven families of araneid fauna and the most dominant families were Lycosidae, Thomisidae and Salticidae. The maximum araneid fauna was collected in the month of June when temperature 43.5°C, relative humidity (R.H) 63.2% and average rainfall 35mm while lowest were captured at relative humidity (R.H) 65.5%, temperature 29°C and rainfall 24mm in the month of September. Pielou'seveness index(E),Simpson diversity index(D)Shannon diversity index (H) and species richness were used to extract the results. It was clarified that araneid fauna asymmetrical in different season of a year and were totally dependent on environmental factors like rainfall, temperature and relative humidity. These data indicated that use of pitfall trap, foliage collection and integrated pest management could be valuable tactics to determine the abundance of araneid fauna.
Two hundred and twenty three specimens were collected from the citrus orchard of district Sargodha belonged to seven families and eleven genera. The order of araneid fauna captured during the current studies was Lycosidae > Saltisidae > Aranidae > Thomisidae > Clubionidae > Gnaphosidae> Oxiopidae. The most dominant genus were Lycosa, Pardosa and Marpissa. The average temperature, relative humidity and average rain fall consistently increased till the months of July, Septermber and August. The maximum degrees of the above environmental factors were not favored to capture of araneid. The most specimens were collected on June whereas the least ones were gathered on October at 30°C, 59% (r.h.) and average rainfall 19.2 mm. Species richness, Shannon diversity index, Pielou's evenness index and Simpson diversity index were 67.57, 2.83, 0.91 and 0.93, respectively. It was concluded that spider population varied in different months of a year and were strictly dependent on the environmental factors like temperature, relative humidity and rainfall.
Feeding experiments were performed with seven species of non-webbuilding spiders and a variety of prey taxa. Some species were generally polyphagous whereas other spiders restricted their prey to a few groups. At one end of the spectrum of prey specialization the thomisid Misumena vatia is limited to a few taxa of possible prey (Table 1). The literature of prey records of non-webbuilding spiders is reviewed (Table 2) with special emphasis on oligophagous or monophagous spiders. Monophagous spiders are generally rare and have specialized on only a few prey taxa: social insects (ants, bees, termites) and spiders.
1. A description and vegetation analysis is given for a small area of limestone grassland by Wytham Wood, Berkshire. Three sampling areas are distinguished whose spider fauna was studied: (1) a Brachypodium pinnatum sward; (2) an area consisting mainly of Festuca rubra; and (3) a sparse and diverse vegetation on loose Coral Rag limestone. 2. Collecting and sampling methods are described including a platform temperature-gradient apparatus designed to extract the spider fauna from vegetation quadrat samples. 3. The dense Festuca turf supported more spiders (up to 841.9/m2) than Brachypodium, and both recorded higher population densities than the more varied vegetation on the Coral Rag limestone. The most uniform vegetation (Brachypodium) recorded the lowest mean number of species; the highest number was recorded on the Coral Rag where floristic diversity was greatest. 4. The proportion of adults in the spider population was never more than 48% during the year, being highest in the winter and lowest in late summer (
In a 3-year study of spiders collected in weedy versus weed-free habitats in Louisiana sugarcane fields, pitfall trap catches showed no differences in diversity (as determined by the number of species and their individuals) of ground associated spider fauna. Diversity of foliage associated spider fauna was 27% higher in grass and mixed weedy than in weed-free and broadleaf habitats in 1983, based on D-Vac samples. Sweep net counts in 1984 revealed a 39% higher foliar spider diversity in weedy than in weed-free habitats. Overall spider abundance in sugarcane decreased with seasonal progression. Additionally, comparisons of weed-free, grass, broadleaf, and mixed weed habitats showed that weed floral composition seems to have little effect on the collective spider abundance and faunal diversity.
In this paper the author reviews the broad general picture of developments in biological control in relation to the increasing opportunities presented for its employment in developing programmes of integrated pest control worldwide. Included are not only the classical examples of biological control of insects and mites and of weeds but such other areas as biological control of vertebrates, of plant diseases, and of dung accumulations, and as well the development of crop plant varieties resistant to plant disease. The review is developed as a means of illustrating that biological control offers real potential as a major manipulatable tactic for central use and maximization in a strategy of integrated control of pests in a great variety of situations — on land and in water, from the tropics to cold, temperate and sub-arctic regions, in forests and range and in cultivated crops and ornamental plantings. It is noted that the employment of these biological control tactics are often self-sufficient but they are not expected to broadly replace the use of chemical pesticides, for chemicals remain necessary in most crop situations and are still our most reliable immediate solution to such a problem. The two types of tactics are to be used together where necessary, with the chemicals being used only where really required and in ways to supplement the use of biological controls in the broad sense.