Abstract
Prey captured by a predator may attract kleptoparasites which could significantly reduce the amount of food consumed. Stegodyphus lineatus, a cribellate spider, builds an energetically costly web. Ants raid the webs of S. lineatus to steal prey and behave as kleptoparasites. We investigated ant raids in a natural population of S. lineatus and their influence on the spider's foraging behaviour. Considering spiders that had captured a prey, 31.2% suffered an ant raid within 24 h after the prey capture. Experimental tests showed that the response to ant raid is to delay web rebuilding and this was independent of a spider's previous foraging success. There was a tendency for spiders that were exposed to ants to build larger webs. Neither prey-handling duration nor prey consumption was modified after exposure to ants. These results suggest that Stegodyphus lineatus adapt its web-building behaviour in response to the risk of kleptoparasitism.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 255-261 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Insectes Sociaux |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 May 2011 |
Keywords
- Adaptative responses
- Ant raids
- Interspecific relationships
- Prey ingestion
- Web-building behaviour
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Insect Science
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