Nonlethal Effects of Pesticides on Web-Building Spiders Might Account for Rapid Mosquito Population Rebound after Spray Application

• Main Authors: Stefan N. Rhoades, Philip K. Stoddard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: <i>Aedes aegypti</i>; <i>Leucauge argyrobapta</i>; nontarget effects; permethrin; pyrethroid; Tetragnathidae
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1360

Spiders are important population regulators of insect pests that spread human disease and damage crops. Nonlethal pesticide exposure is known to affect behavior of arthropods. For spiders such effects include the inability to repair their webs or capture prey. In this study, nonlethal exposure of Mabel’s orchard spider (<i>Leucauge argyrobapta</i>) to the synthetic pyrethroid permethrin, via web application, interfered with web reconstruction and mosquito capture ability for 1–3 days. The timing of this loss-of-predator ecosystem function corresponds to the rapid population rebound of the yellow fever mosquito (<i>Aedes aegypti</i>) following insecticide application to control arbovirus epidemics. We suggest this temporal association is functional and propose that follow-up study be conducted to evaluate its significance.