November 2015
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SERKET The Arachnological Bulletin of the Middle East and North Africa
This study was conducted to study the duration of Latrodectus tredecimguttatus (Rossi, 1790), Family Theridiidae. This species was found among and under stones on the ground in a mango orchard in Sadat City, El-Menoufiya Governorate, Egypt. Its life cycle was studied under laboratory conditions on different prey species at temperature of 27±2°C and relative humidity of 60-70%. One hundred and three spiderlings were reared each one alone. Males pass through four to five spiderling instars and females pass through eight ones before reaching adulthood with the life cycle averaged 107.83 days for males and 215.16 days for females. Obtained data showed that the first and second spiderling instars consumed the largest number of prey species Jassid, Aphis spp., and 1 st –3 rd instars of larvae of Spodopetra littoralis, while the third and fourth spiderling instars fed on the 1 s –3 rd instars of larvae of S. littoralis and larvae of Galleria mellonella. From fifth spiderling instars to adult, the individuals fed on different stages of larvae and adults of S. littoralis and larvae of G. mellonella. On the other hand, the adult spider males and females fed on the different stages of S. littoralis and G. mellonella during the lifespan. The life cycle and longevity periods of the spider lasted 107.83 & 75.17 and 215.16 & 87.45 days for male and female, respectively.
