Publication details
Arboreal spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in pistachio orchards in South Africa
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2005 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | African Plant Protection |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Zoology |
| Keywords | abundance; age; Araneae; diversity; IPM; pistachio |
| Description | As part of a biomonitoring programme on pistachio orchards in South Africa, spiders were collected from tree canopies in three orchards from January 2001 to December 2002, using an insecticide mistblower and dichlorvos as a knockdown agent. Sampling was conducted in two orchards (GVN 1 and GVN 19) on the Green Valley Nuts Estate, and one orchard (REM) on the farm Remhoogte. In total, 5843 spiders were collected, representing 18 families and 88 species.Numbers and diversitywere highest inREM( n= 2240, 69 species.), followed byGVN1 ( n=2055, 64 species) and GVN 19 ( n= 1548, 47 species). Three species dominated the spider fauna: the dumping spider Heliophanus pistachio Wesolowska (53.4%), the sac spider Cheiracanthium furculatum Karsch (12.7%) and the orb-web spider Neoscona subfusca(C L Koch) (6.4%). |
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