Abstract
Chemical and other selective insecticides are annually used as foliar treatments against defoliating Lepidoptera in the southern Spanish open woodland (known as dehesa), one of the largest forest ecosystems in the Mediterranean basin. In order to analyse the negative impact of these treatments on beneficial arthropods, the toxic effect of the three authorised insecticides on Philodromus buxi Simon (Araneae: Philodromidae), the most abundant tree canopy spider in southern Spain, was tested under laboratory conditions. Cypermethrin was the most harmful insecticide 96 hours after application, causing around 90% corrected mortality, while flufenoxuron (an insect growth-regulator) prompted around 45% mortality, and Bacillus thuringiensis caused no mortality at all. In addition, flufenoxuron produced a clear alteration in the predatory capacity of P. buxi, increasing the reaction times of treated specimens, and additional mortality associated with the moulting process. Bacillus thuringiensis caused no effects in reaction times, growth or moulting. The results obtained clearly indicate that B. thuringiensis is the most suitable of the authorised insecticides for conserving populations of P. buxi in dehesa woodland in southern Spain.
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