Spiders as biological pest control in rice fields of Dakshina Kannada District

Spiders with various foraging strategies to prey on insects and pests in rice fields can be considered as biological pest control in rice fields. They prey on several species which harm the growth of rice plants and, thus help to increase the yield of rice in rice fields. The biodiversity study was conducted in two rice fields in Puttur taluk of Dakshina Kannada District. This resulted in confirmed identification 30 species of spiders belonging to 6 families - Salticidae, Araneidae, Oxyopidae, Tetragnathidae, Thomisidae, Pisauridae. In this study Salticidae, Araneidae, Tetragnathidae and Oxyopidae dominate the field controlling pests in the field and act as biological control agents in agricultural ecosystem.