Crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) in flowering plants in a Brazilian "Cerrado" ecosystem

Rocha-Filho, L. C.; Rinaldi, Isabela Maria Piovesan

doi:10.1590/s1519-69842011000300004

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Crab spiders capture prey irrespective of the ecological association these prey have with plants, thus acting as one of the factors controlling plant and insect flower-visitor interactions (Vogelei & Greissel, 1989;Rocha-Filho & Rinaldi, 2011). It is important to look at the entire flower-visitor community because flower-visitors have been found to have different reactions to spider presence (Gonçalves-Souza et al, 2008;Brechbühl et al, 2010b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crab spiders (Thomisidae) attract insect flower‐visitors without UV signalling

Welti

Putnam

Joern

2016

Ecological Entomology

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1. Crab spiders (Thomisidae) indirectly affect insect flower-visitor and flowering plant interactions by consuming and altering the behaviour of insects.2. Although one expects insect flower-visitors to avoid crab spiders actively, some crab spider species are known to attract flower-visitors. Crab spiders may use UV signalling to lure potential prey to the flowers they occupy.3. In the present study, a field experiment was conducted to examine the effects of crab spiders occupying three prairie plant species for the insect flower-visitor community. Pollinating insects were significantly attracted to inflorescences with crab spiders compared to inflorescences without crab spiders for two plant species, and herbivorous insects were attracted to inflorescences with crab spiders for one of these plant species. The two flowering plant species with increased pollinator visitation showed increased seed weights for plants with crab spiders, indicating crab spider presence indirectly increased pollination.4. To test the UV signalling hypothesis, inflorescences with crab spiders of one plant species were observed under both a UV-blocking plastic and a clear plastic control. Contrary to our prediction, flower-visitors were not more likely to land on inflorescences under the clear plastic; the UV signalling hypothesis was not supported. Other unknown explanations underlie prey attraction to inflorescences with crab spiders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Crab spiders (Thomisidae) attract insect flower‐visitors without UV signalling

Welti

Putnam

Joern

2016

Ecological Entomology

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“…commun. ), which often sit and wait in melittophilous flowers (Rocha‐Filho & Rinaldi ). Rufous hornero is the most common member of the Furnariidae in the study region.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The spider model was made of epoxy (the prosome and opistossome) and metal (the legs) to simulate the morphological characteristics of the family Thomisidae (as used by Gonçalves‐Souza et al. ; Rocha‐Filho & Rinaldi ). The spider model was placed on the petals of the flowers so as not to prevent the bees from accessing the floral resources; the bird was positioned around 10 cm close to the perch flower.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Consequences of Predation Risk on the Male Territorial Behavior in a Solitary Bee

et al. 2016

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Territorial males may adopt a mating tactic that yields greater reproductive success but that at the same time increases the risk of predation. Plasticity in reproductive behavior can reflect a balance between sexual selection and natural selection. In this study, we sought to verify the effect of predation risk on territorial behavior of males of the solitary bee Ptilothrix fructifera (Apidae). Males of the species employ alternative mating tactics and can be territorial in defense of larval food sources. By manipulating predator models in the field, we tested whether (1) males avoid perch flowers containing predator models; (2) males alternate between mating tactics when their territory is associated with a predation risk; and (3) female foraging on flowers in a territory is altered in the presence of a predator model. We measured the responses of males and females in flowers containing and not containing a model of a spider or a stuffed bird. The results show that territorial males of P. fructifera alter their territorial behavior when faced with a high risk of predation. They do not abandon their territory or change to a non-territorial mating tactic, but instead change the use of their territory, avoiding flowers containing predator models or perching on other flowers when the previous flower presented a potential predation risk. Female P. fructifera decreases the frequency of their visits to flowers and the length of time spent there in the presence of a spider model. In short, in the face of predation risk, females and males alter their behaviors at the cost of less efficient foraging and searching for partners, respectively.

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“…are very well known for their ability to change colour using integumental ommachromes (varying from white to pink and bright yellow) and are regularly encountered on flowers or grasses (Dippenaar-Schoeman, 1983;Heiling et al, 2005a,b;Théry & Casas, 2009). Thomisids are ambush predators that usually rest on a suitable substrate and wait for approaching prey (Morse, 1984;Rocha-Filho & Rinaldi, 2011), and are usually regarded as generalist predators (e.g. Romero & Vasconcellos-Neto, 2003;Guseinov, 2006).…”

Section: Dominant Families and Generamentioning

confidence: 99%

The faunistic diversity of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the South African Grassland Biome

Haddad¹,

Dippenaar-Schoeman²,

Foord³

et al. 2013

Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa

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As part of the South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA), all available information on spider species distribution in the South African Grassland Biome was compiled. A total of 11 470 records from more than 900 point localities were sampled in the South African Grassland Biome until the end of 2011, representing 58 families, 275 genera and 792 described species. A further five families (Chummidae, Mysmenidae, Orsolobidae, Symphytognathidae and Theridiosomatidae) have been recorded from the biome but are only known from undescribed species. The most frequently recorded families are the Gnaphosidae (2504 records), Salticidae (1500 records) and Thomisidae (1197 records). The last decade has seen an exponential growth in the knowledge of spiders in South Africa, but there are certainly many more species that still have to be discovered and described. The most speciesrich families are the Salticidae (112 spp.), followed by the Gnaphosidae (88 spp.), Thomisidae (72 spp.) and Araneidae (52 spp.). A rarity index, taking into account the endemicity index and an abundance index, was determined to give a preliminary indication of the conservation importance of each species. The endemicity index indicates that 58 species are endemic to the biome, while 38 species could be considered to be introduced, cosmopolitan, or having a distribution extending beyond the Afrotropical Region. Levels of endemism are highest for mygalomorph trapdoor spiders (7.14-50%) and selected araneomorph families with restricted dispersal capabilities (i.e. Archaeidae, Sicariidae and Scytodidae). A brief review of the published data of surveys from the biome and the patterns of spider assemblage structure in each is presented, together with information on the most species-rich spider families occurring in the biome.

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Crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae) in flowering plants in a Brazilian "Cerrado" ecosystem

Cited by 11 publications

References 24 publications

Crab spiders (Thomisidae) attract insect flower‐visitors without UV signalling

Crab spiders (Thomisidae) attract insect flower‐visitors without UV signalling

The Consequences of Predation Risk on the Male Territorial Behavior in a Solitary Bee

The faunistic diversity of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) of the South African Grassland Biome

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