Evidence of 58 predation events by Phidippus audax (Hentz) was obtained during 17–31 October 1986 from a 0.1 ha old field site that included cotton in the Delta of Mississippi. Three crop pest species accounted for 60% of the prey records: tarnished plant bug (TPB) (22%), spotted cucumber beetle (SCB) (22%), and three-cornered alfalfa hopper (TAH) (16%). Censuses (35) of cotton at this site indicated that the most abundant potential prey, SCB, had one of the lowest capture rates by P. audax, 1.9%. Other spiders as a group were captured at a rate of 11.4%, TAH at a rate of 10.2%, and TPB at a rate of 4.3%. Considering the total potential arthropod prey population, P. audax consumed approximately 3.3% during a 2-week period. Predation by P. audax usually occurred between 1030 and 1500 hours, with 7.6% of the P. audax population expected to be consuming prey at any one time. It is estimated that in late-season habitats P. audax may remove ca. 10% of the TPB population every 1–2 weeks.
Field and Vegetable Crops as Hosts of Larval Western Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
