Journal of Biological Control

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Investigations were carried out during the period from July 2010 to January 2011 on the vertical stratification of spiders in the rice agroecosystem of Kuttanad, Kerala. For the present study, five main functional groups were recognized based on the activity and foraging behaviour related to average height of the rice plant, namely <20cm from water/soil surface, 20-40cm, 40-60cm, 60-80cm and >80cm. The final growth stage of each plant was thoroughly examined from top to bottom, on leaf blades, flowers, dry leaves and ground stratum. Spiders were then identified with the help of available literature. A total of 1632 individuals from 69 species, 49 genera and 17 families were collected during the study period. The most species rich family was Salticidae (15 species) followed by Tetragnathidae (12 species) and Araneidae (7 species). The spiders collected were classified into 7 ecological guilds based on the foraging mode of the spiders. Among the 69 species of spiders collected, 54% belongs to stalkers (28%) and orb weavers (26%) categories. The second dominant guilds are the ground runners (13%) and space web builders (11%). Ambushers (10%), foliage runners (7%), sheet web builders (5%) and sheet web builders are the other ecological guilds to which these spiders belong.

Keywords

Araneae, Rice, Stratification, Guild, Microhabitat, Spiders.
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