~ 258 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2017; 5(6): 258-262 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2017; 5(6): 258-262 © 2017 JEZS Received: 17-09-2017 Accepted: 19-10-2017 Mohafez MAM AGRIC. Zoology and Nematology Dept., Faculty of Agric., Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt Hesham Sk Ahmed AGRIC. Zoology and Nematology Dept., Faculty of Agric., Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt Saudi AS Baghdadi AGRIC. Zoology and Nematology Dept., Faculty of Agric., Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt Rashwan AMA AGRIC. Zoology and Nematology Dept., Faculty of Agric., Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt Correspondence Mohafez MAM AGRIC. Zoology and Nematology Dept., Faculty of Agric., Al-Azhar University, Assiut, Egypt Biological aspects of Thanatus albini (Audouin, 1826) (Arachnida: Araneida: Philodromidae) in Egypt Mohafez MAM, Hesham Sk Ahmed, Saudi AS Baghdadi and Rashwan AMA Abstract The spider species, Thanatus albini Audouin, 1826 In laboratory, it was fed and reared on adults of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, Aphids, Aphis gossypii, the vinegar fly, Dorsophila melanogaster, Jassid, Amrasca biguttula, and stored grain worm moth, Ephestia kuhniella. This species was found eggplant and on the ground and reared (2 March - 28 July 2014) in Abnob, Assuit Governorate, Egypt. Incubation period mean of 11.0 days at 30 ± 5 ºC and 60-70% R.H. The pre- oviposition period was 14. 2 days before laying eggs, while the oviposition period means of 29.0, days the post- oviposition period mean of 126.2 days. Keywords: Biological aspects, Thanatus albini, Tetranychus urticae 1. Introduction All spiders are carnivores and feed almost exclusively upon prey which they have caught for themselves. They prey upon other arthropods, mainly insects, although woodlice and centipedes may also be taken [1] . It is important to study the different ecological aspects of the spiders to maximize their important role as biological control agents [1] . All spiders are carnivorous; many are specialized as snare builders, whereas others hunt their victims. They consume great number of insect and mite pests so that they are consider one of the biocontrol agents in the ecosystem [2] . True spiders hardly play a major role in controlling insect pests; also, most spiders are generalists with respect to their diet but for efficient pest control [3] . Furthermore, spiders generally don't form social colonies, so their population cannot become very dense [3] . Spiders may have an important buffer effect for insects, during the early development of an insect population, when growth is exponential [1] . Many spiders adapted to the available food supply by eating more prey when it is abundant; this maximal energy up take allows the spiders not only grow but also to mature more quickly [4, 5] . Some spiders produce relatively more eggs when food supply is abundant, while there are some ability of spiders to survive several months with food is primarily [6] . Family Philodromidae are represented by 30 genera, eight of which occurs in the Afrotropical region. They are free living agile spiders commonly found on plants or on the soil surface. Genus Thanatus is the second - rate in number; which includes 21 species from Africa, Asia, southern Europe and Brazil [7] . Thanatus albini is the most common philodromid species recorded form Egyptian’ d esert [8] . The present work was carried out to focus on some biological aspects of this species which collected from different orchards in Assuit Governorate. Individuals of the Philodromidae spider, Thanatus albini were found in high or moderate numbers on orchard fruit trees (pomegranate, orange) vegetable crops (eggplant, tomatoes and pepper) field crops (faba bean, maize) in three localities Assuit Governorate. 2. Materials and Methods This species was found eggplant and on the ground and reared (2 March - 28 July 2014) in Abnob, Assuit Governorate, Egypt. For making pure culture from spider species; adult females were collected and placed in translucent plastic cell (3 cm diameter and 5 cm high), supplied with prey, kept to room temperature and lift until deposit their egg. For individual rearing, newly hatched spider lings were transferred singly to rearing cell. Each was sup-plied with a known number of prey during each investigation.