FEEDING CAPACITY OF THE SPIDER Anelosimus studiosus HENTZ (ARACHNIDA :THERIDIIDAE) FED ON DIFFERENT LARVAE OF LEPIDOPTERUS PESTS (GELECHIIDAE AND NOCTUIDAE

Some biological aspects of the spider Anelosimus studiosus (Hentz) fed on first instar larvae of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saund.) and the second instar larvae of Spodoptera littoralis (Boisd.) were studied under laboratory conditions of 25±1ºC and 65±5% RH. The female life cycles spider averaged 78.5 and 85.48 days, while it was 83.83 and 75.1 days for male when they fed on the above prey, respectively. Adult female and male consumed (129.66 101.30) and (103.30 785.60) larvae of P. gossypiella and S. littoralis, respectively. Adult female lived for 39.3 and 41.3 days on P. gossypiella and S. littoralis and deposited an average of 41.7 26.7 eggs when it fed on larvae of the above mentioned insects, respectively.