Biological Aspects of the Spider Theridion incanescens (Araneae: Theridiidae) Feeding on Tetranychus urticae and Ceratitis capitata With Notes on its Mating Behaviour

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Plant Protection Research Institute, Agric. Research Center, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

The life history of Theridion incanescens Simon, 1890 is studied for the first time in Egypt. T. incanescens was first recorded from Egypt in 2012. It was collected from Aloe vera cultivated in Giza, mango, citrus and grape trees at El-Sharqia & Ismalia. The individuals were reared under laboratory conditions and were fed every two days on motile stages of Tetranychus urticae (Koch, 1836) until reaching to subadults, after that they were fed on Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). The males and females reached maturity in the fifth instar after 41–47 & 34–52 days respectively.Adult longevity, life span, fecundity of female and food consumption were studied too. The mating behaviour of T. incanescens was described. It began with courtship followed by four copulatory sequences. Total duration of themating behaviour was 3:05 hour.

Keywords

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences. A, Entomology
Volume 7, Issue 2
December 2014
Pages 9-14

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