Some types of spiders can effectively destroy tomato and potato pests. Reported by the University of Portsmouth.
leaf roll Hold absolute It has developed resistance to pesticides, making it extremely difficult for farmers to maintain tomato and potato crops. Other approaches are needed to control this insect, such as using natural predators such as spiders.
American scientists investigated the use of tropical globe-weaving spiders. Cyrtophora citricola For pest control, since these spiders form groups, they are not prone to cannibalism and also create large webs to catch their prey.
During the experiment, various types of prey were introduced into the colonies of spiders of different sizes – small leafworms, fruit flies (Drosophila hydei) and larger black lions (Hermetia illucens). The researchers found that larger spiders create larger webs and tend to catch more prey, as well as easily catch and eat leafworms and fruit flies, while larger black lion cubs are rarely caught.
“Our results suggest that tropical orbweb spiders can be an effective biological control against flying insect pests, at least when they reach adult size. Because they have evolved the ability to live in groups, these spiders may be better suited to the task at hand than the more aggressive solitary cannibal spiders.
Spiders of this species can form giant superwebs to catch many insects, forming groups of hundreds or even thousands of interconnected webs. Spider colonies also serve as a substrate for other spider species, further increasing the number of predators and aiding in pest control.