Spiders of alfalfa with notes on the biology of Tetragnatha laboriosa Hentz

Several areas of the bionomics of spiders of alfalfa in Virginia were given preliminary investigation. The species complex of the spider fauna was determined and the seasonal occurrence of the four major species were plotted.

The D-Vac sampler and the sweep net were the major sampling methods utilized. Fourteen families consisting of 75 genera and 112 identifiable species were found. Tetragnatha laboriosa Hentz, Pachygnatha tristriata Koch, Misumenops asperatus (Hentz) and Oxyopes salticus Hentz were the most common species found.