Impact of the Striped Lynx Spider (Araneae: Oxyopidae) and Other Natural Enemies on the Cotton Fleahopper (Hemiptera: Miridae) in Texas Cotton

Abstract

Natural predation on nymphs and adults of the cotton feahopper, Pseud,atomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), was assessed during 108 h of visual observation in an insecticide-free cotton ffeld in cenbal Texas. Predaceous arthropods of 13 species (from nine families) were observed to forage on the feahopper. More than 807o of üre predation events observed were afüibutable to spiders. The striped lynx spider, Oxgopes salticus Hentz, was dominant among the predators observed eating fleahoppers (15 records of feeding in action). Cotton fleahoppers composed,-25Vo of the total prey of O. salticus during June and July. It was estimated during midseason that once every 4 d, one O. salticus would kill one cotton fleahopper. The assessment of the killing power of O. salticus, based on the predation rate and the predator-to-prey ratio (i.e., number of O. salticus individuals per feahopper), suggests that these spiders are important mortality agents of the cotton fleahopper (>l1Vo prey mortality per day in the middle of the growing season). Additional feahopper mortality is attributable to other predaceous arthropods such as Peucetia oiridans (Hentz) (Oxyopidae), jumping spiders (Salticidae), crab spiders (Thomisidae), web-building spiders (Araneidae, Dictynidae, Theridiidae), damsel bugs (Nabidae), and ants (Formicidae). KEY WORDS Pseudatomoscelis, Oxgopes, colton THn cotroN FLEAHorer,r., Pseudatomoscelis seröatus (Reuter), is a major pest of cotton in Texas (Adkisson 1973, Sterling et al. 1992b). Fleahoppers are eaten by various polyphagous arthropod predators as has been detected by visual observation (Whitcomb et al. 1963, Dean et al. 1987, Lockley & Young 1987) and by ""Plabeling (Breene & Sterling 1988). These polyphagous predators are numerous in some cotton fields (Whitcomb & Bell 1964, van den Bosch & Hagen 1966, Johnson et al. 1986, Dean & Sterling 1987), suggesting that they may contribute 0/Xü22l5XlS2llL78-f f88$02.00/0 @ 1992 Entomological Society of America This article is the copyright property of the Entomological Society of America and may not be used for any commercial !r othq p{ygte pqrpose without specific written permission of thg Entomological Society of Amedca October 1992 Nvppsrsn ET ÄL.: Spropn PnnoerroN oN CorroN Flnenoppnn merically dominant predator species was estimated. Materials and Methods Sfudy Area. The study site was a weed-free

An estimated 400–800 million tons of prey are annually killed by the global spider community

“…This can be explained by the fact that annual crop fields are “disturbed habitats” characterized by low spider biomass and a relatively short feeding season (Luczak 1979; Nyffeler and Benz 1979; Nyffeler et al 1994a). Nevertheless, in wheat-, rice-, and cotton-growing areas with no or very low pesticide usage, the presence of spiders (in combination with other predators) may at times have a beneficial effect in slowing down the population growth of hemipteran pests (Kiritani et al 1972; Sunderland et al 1986; Nyffeler and Benz 1987, 1988a,b; Nyffeler et al 1992, 1994a,b; Jmhasly and Nentwig 1995; Birkhofer et al 2008, 2016). …”

Evidence of a latitudinal gradient in spider diversity in Australian cotton

“…For example, Oxyopidae, or Lynx spiders, are stalkers which attack mirids in cotton (Breene et al. 1989; Nyffeler et al. 1992a,b, M.E.A.…”

Impact of low release rates of the assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) on Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Creontiades spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae) in cotton

“…However, in monoculture environments where the main pests are characterised by migratory behaviour and a multivoltine lifecycle (Zalucki et al . 1986;Miles 1995), generalist predators may have a survival advantage over host-specific natural enemies by adapting to fluctuations in host availability (Nyffeler et al . 1992;Scholz & Zalucki 1998).…”