BIOLOGAL ASPECTS OF THE SPIDER, Thantus albinii (AUDOUIN) (ARANEIDA: PHILODROMIDAE) FEEDING ON FIVE TYPES OF PREYS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Plant Prot. Res. Inst., Agric. Res. Cent., Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

The spider Thantus albinii(Audouin) was reared on five types of prey motile stages of the two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch; the leguminous aphid, Aphis craccivora Koch and first and second larval instars of the cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.); mixture of all the previous preys and different randomly preys included the previous preys plus Aphis gossypii Glover, Thrips tabaci Lind.; Bemisia tabaci (Genn.)and Pectinophora gossypiella (Saund). Incubation period averaged 10.8 to 12.3 days. Individuals pass through seven spiderlings before reaching adult. Spider T.albinii doesn’t complete its life cycle when was fed on T. urticae and reached only to the third spiderling and died. The life cycle averaged 104 and 98.2, 64.1 and 59.9, 89.3 and 81.4 as well as 148.3 and 132.6 days for female and male when fed on the other four types of prey previously mentioned,respectively at 27 ± 2°C and 70 ± 5% RH. Female oviposition period lasted 14.5, 13.5, 15.7 and 19.8 days and the deposited egg sacs averaged 1.6, 1.7, 2.3 and 2.4 when fed on A. craccivora, S. littoralis, mixed preys and random preys,respectively.

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