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Present study was designed to assess the prey preference behaviour of three most dominant hunting spiders [Lycosa terrestris Butt, Anwar and Tahir 2006 (Araneae: Lycosidae), Pardosa birmanica Siman 1884 (Araneae: Lycosidae) and Oxyopes javanus (Thorell 1887) (Araneae: Oxyopidae)] of rice ecosystems both in the laboratory and in the Weld. Two types of laboratory experiments, i.e., choice and no choice feeding, were performed using only adult male and female specimens of the spiders. No choice test showed that each of the three hunting spiders readily consumed larvae and nymphs of rice pests oVered. Female hunting spiders consumed more prey compared to male hunting spiders. Results of choice feeding test indicated that L. terrestris and P. birmanica preferred nymphs of rice insect pests while O. javanus preferred larvae of rice insect pests. Results of direct observations showed that in August, dipterous insects were the most numerous rice pests consumed by L. terrestris, P. birmanica and O. javanus, comprising over 56.3, 38 and 48% of their respective diets. In contrast, in September, the proportion of dipterous insects decreased dramatically and hoppers become the most numerous pests, comprising over 50, 51 and 41% of all prey and spiders consumed by L. terrestris, P. birmanica and O. javanus, respectively. In October, aquatic Heteroptera were frequently observed in their diets. Predatory potential of these hunting spiders diVered statistically in the laboratory as well as in the Weld. It is concluded from the results of present project that studied species of spiders could successfully be used to control insect pests of rice ecosystems.

The Early Permian Gondwana regime succession of the Nilawahan Group is exposed only in the Salt Range of Pakistan. After a prolonged episode of non-deposition that spanned much of the Palaeozoic, the 350 m thick predominantly clastic sequence of the Nilawahan Group records a late glacial and post-glacial episode in which a range of glacio-fluvial, marine and fluvial environments evolved and accumulated. The Early Permian succession of the Salt Range has been classified into four formations, which together indicates a changing climatic regime during the Early Permian in the Salt Range region. The lower-most, Tobra Formation unconformably overlies a Cambrian sequence and is composed of tillite, diamictite and fresh water facies, which contain a floral assemblage (Gangamopteris and Glossopteris) that confirms an Asselian age. The Tobra Formation is overlain by marginal marine deposits of the Dandot Formation (Sakmarian), which contain an abundant brachiopods assemblage (Eurydesma and Conularia). Accumulation of the Dandot Formation was terminated by a regional sea-level fall and a change to the deposition of the fluvial deposits of the Warchha Sandstone (Artinskian). The Warchha Sandstone was deposited by high sinuosity meandering, avulsion prone river with well developed floodplains. This episode of fluvial sedimentation was terminated by a widespread marine transgression, as represented by the abrupt upward transition to the overlying shallow marine Sardhai Formation (Kungurian). The Early Permian Gondwana sequence represented by the Nilawahan Group is capped by predominantly shallow shelf carbonate deposits of the Tethyan realm. The sedimentologic and stratigraphic relationship of these four lithostratigraphic units in the Salt Range reveals a complex stratigraphic history for the Early Permian, which is mainly controlled by eustatic sea-level change due to climatic variation associated with climatic amelioration at the end of the major Gondwana glacial episode, and the gradual regional northward drift to a lower latitude of the Indian plate.

We conducted a field study in September 2007 and2008 to analyze the foraging activity, natural diets, and predatory efficacy of Tetragnatha javana (Thorell 1890) (Araneae: Tetragnathidae) and Neoscona theis (Walckenaer 1842) (Araneae: Araneidae) on selected prey. The relationship between body measurements (carapace width, leg length, total body length, and body weight) and web dimensions (capture area, capture thread length, number of radii, number of spirals, and mesh height) of both species was also investigated. Most of the observed T. javana constructed their webs between two adjacent rice plants, while N. theis placed theirs at the top of rice plants. Both species required approximately an hour to complete a web, which differed significantly from each other in height, diameter, and capture area. Both species constructed only a single web per day. Web building activity of both species was intense from 17:00 to 18:00, while preyhandling activity was high from 19:00 to 20:00. In both species, peaks of feeding were recorded just after the peaks of prey handling (21:00). The main prey orders caught in the webs of both species were Lepidoptera, Diptera, Homoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, and Orthoptera. The time required to reach and capture lepidopteran (adults of stem borer and leaf folder) and homopteran prey was similar for both species. However, the time required to reach and capture orthopteran (grasshopper nymphs) prey was significantly longer for T. javana than for N. theis. Capture area increased with carapace width, and capture thread length increased with carapace width and body weight, while leg length and body length did not relate to either of these web variables. The number of radii, number of spirals, and mesh height did not correlate with any of the body size measurements. We concluded that both species can be used effectively to reduce insect pests of rice fields.

Morphological study of 1,795 spiders from sites across Pakistan placed these specimens in 27 families and 202 putative species. COI sequences >400 bp recovered from 1,782 specimens were analyzed using neighbor-joining trees, Bayesian inference, barcode gap, and Barcode Index Numbers (BINs). Specimens of 109 morphological species were assigned to 123 BINs with ten species showing BIN splits, while 93 interim species included representatives of 98 BINs. Maximum conspecific divergences ranged from 0–5.3% while congeneric distances varied from 2.8–23.2%. Excepting one species pair ( Oxyopes azhari – Oxyopes oryzae ), the maximum intraspecific distance was always less than the nearest-neighbor (NN) distance. Intraspecific divergence values were not significantly correlated with geographic distance. Most (75%) BINs detected in this study were new to science, while those shared with other nations mainly derived from India. The discovery of many new, potentially endemic species and the low level of BIN overlap with other nations highlight the importance of constructing regional DNA barcode reference libraries.

Epocillapakhtunkhwa Ali & Maddison, sp. n. and Stenaelurillusmardanicus Ali & Maddison, sp. n. are described from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Noted for the first time is the presence in Epocilla of a small bump just anterior to the fovea of the carapace, of unknown functional significance, otherwise known in the unrelated Opisthoncus L. Koch, 1880 and Cocalus Pocock, 1897. In addition, the female of Menemerusnigli Wesołowska & Freudenschuss, 2012 is described for the first time.

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