Observations on life cycle of certain spiders from Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu.

Abstract

Survey was conducted, in the different forests ecosystems of Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu in Nilgris, Coimbatore, Erode, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli districts to collect the adult spiders and study them taxonomically. Fifty-six species of spider collections were made. From the fifty six, biology was studied for six spider species, such as Micrommata virescens n.sp., Oxyopes javanus, Peucetia virridana, Agelena kariansholensis n.sp., Heteropoda venatoria and Olios hampsoni. Biology studies with Peucetia virridana and Micrommata virescens showed that both species took more than 350 days to complete their life cycles. Heteropoda venetoria and Oxyopes javanus took more than 250 days to complete their life cycle. Agelena kariansholensis took 381 days and Olios hampsoni took 345 days to complete their life cycles. 30% of Peucetia virridana and more than 20% of Heteropoda venatoria and Micrommata virescens and 7% of Oxyopes javanus developed into adults in captivity.