21 Kas 2024 Perşembe
A study on spiders as predators in the Agro ecosystems
Abstract :Spiders are one of the most abundant predatory groups in the terrestrial ecosystems as they feed on insects and some other arthropods and thus, they can play important role in pest control. There are more than 3694 genera and 40462 spider species which have been recognized all over the World, out of which about 1066 species have been reported from India. Spiders play an important role in regulating insect pests in agricultural ecosystems but in India, studies on the population and abundance of the spider assemblages in agricultural crops are limited. A preliminary studywas conducted to document the spider fauna from the agroecosystems (vegetable fields) of Pauni chak, Jammu, J & K. Pauni chak is known as the vegetable basket of Jammu District as it is just 40 kms from the Jammu city and yields a good amount of seasonal vegetables. The faunistic survey from the vegetable fields yielded 12 species under 9 generas. Araneidae was the most dominant family recording 5 species. On species level, Cyclosa insulana was the dominant species. Orb web weavers represented 70% of the total species collected.
Agro ecosystem, predatory role and spiders