Systematics and Ecology of Spiders (Aranae : Arachnida) in Rice Land

Spiders are potential predators of insects feeding on rice and help in maintaining their population under check. Before this study, no work was carried out about the systematic and diversity of spiders in rice land ecosystem in Northeastern Uttar Pradesh (NEUP). The survey conducted in four district of Gorakhpur Division, viz. Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur and Deoria reveales the presence of 58 species of spiders under 28 genera in 10 families. The book incorporates detail illustrative account, morphological descriptions and morphometry of each spider species with necessary keys for their identification; provides information on their distributional patterns derived from rice-fields located at different places in NEUP; and also deals with their population guilds (e.g., orb weabers, ground runners, stalkers, foliage runners, and ambusers). We hope this book will be helpful as a base for future investigations in the field of systematics and ecology of rice-land spiders in other parts of the world. It will also prove a useful addition to the libraries and to the large section of researchers interested in biosystematics and ecology of spiders, and plant protection.