Spiders are among the dominant invertebrate predators in agricultural systems and are
significant regulators of insect pests. The precise dynamics of biocontrol of pests in the field
are, however, poorly understood. This study investigates how density‐independent prey
choice, taxonomy, life stage, sex, and web characteristics affect spider diet and biocontrol.
We collected spiders in four genera of Linyphiidae (ie, Bathyphantes, Erigone,
Tenuiphantes, and Microlinyphia), and individuals from the Lycosidae genus Pardosa, and …