04 Haz 2025 Çarşamba
Feeding spectra of some arachnids promising for insect pests control in agrocenoses of the South-Eastern Caucasus
Abstract : Based on the results of studies of the feeding spectra of five species of arachnids (scorpion, solifuge, tarantula and cob-web spiders) the possibility of using them to increase the efficiency of regulating the number of insect pests in agrocenoses is considered. In this regard, the task was set to find out what place in the food spectrum of arachnids is occupied by plant pests, and what place is occupied by their natural enemies, in order to establish the degree of ecological interaction of predators (intra-guild predation) of different and related taxa represented in communities. The obtained results indicate that phytophages prevail in the diet of all five species of arachnids (especially in the solifuges and cob-web spiders), while zoophages are rare (not selected) prey, which confirms the prospects of their use as effective entomophages in the complex method of biological pest control.