Prey selection and predatory importance of orb-weaving spiders (Araneae: Araneidae, Uloboridae) in Texas cotton

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Nyffeler, Martin Dean, Damon A. Sterling, Winfield L.
Copyright Year	1989
Abstract	In an unsprayed cotton field in east Texas, orb weavers were one of the numerically dominant groups of spiders, constituting 10% of all spiders collected by D-vac during the summer of 1985 (range, 0.04 individuals/m2 in June to 0.72 individuals/m2 in August). Direct counts, conducted during peak orb-weaver density in August, showed that 0.86 individuals/m2 were found. More than two-thirds of all orb weavers collected by D-vac in cotton consisted of the five species Acanthepeira stellata (Walckenaer), Neoscona arabesca (Walckenaer), Gea heptagon (Hentz), Tetragnatha laboriosa Hentz, and Uloborus glomosus (Walckenaer). Their prey consisted of insects (>99%) and spiders 90% of the prey of the orbweaving spiders, which are characterized as generalist predators. Differences among the five spider species indicate that prey selection was occurring; this seems to be determined by web location, web inclination, and web strength. Of the orb weavers occurring in cotton, 99% were small-sized spiders (primarily G. heptagon ) that intercept small prey with their delicate (about 4 cm diameter) webs. These orb weavers are predators primarily of smallsized pests such as the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, and the cotton fleahopper, Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter).
Starting Page	373
Ending Page	380
Page Count	8
File Format	PDF HTM / HTML
DOI	10.1093/ee/18.3.373
Volume Number	18
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://conservation.unibas.ch/team/nyffeler/pdf/nyffeler1989ee.pdf
Alternate Webpage(s)	https://doi.org/10.1093/ee%2F18.3.373
Language	English
Access Restriction	Open
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article