Riceland Spiders of South and Southeast Asia
Author: A. T. Barrion
Publisher: Int. Rice Res. Inst.
Published: 1995
Total Pages: 738
ISBN-13: 0851989675
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis work, which represents a major contribution to the literature for those interested in spiders or more generally in biological control and crop protection. Spiders are among the most omnipresent and numerous predators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems, and without them insect pest populations would go out of control. Their potential as biological control agents can only be appreciated though a greater understanding of their abundance and species composition in different ecological systems. There is a great need for literature providing guidance on spider identification. This volume provides a comprehensive illustrated guide to the spider fauna of rice in South and Southeast Asia. It is designed to be used by both specialists and novices.The majority of the species covered were collected from a diversity of habitats in the Philippines. The bulk of the book consists of keys to the identification of families, genera, and species of Philippine spiders, illustrated by more than 1,000 line drawings, and 92 color photographs. A total of 341 species belonging to 134 genera within 26 families are recognized. Of these, 257 species and 8 genera are new to science. Also provided are distribution maps for individual species and a classification scheme for Philippine riceland spiders.