Natural diet and prey‐choice behaviour of Aelurillus muganicus (Araneae: Salticidae), a myrmecophagic jumping spider from Azerbaijan

Abstract

The distinctions between a predator's diet, its prey-choice behaviour and its preferences are illustrated in a study of Aelurillus muganicus, a salticid spider from the Apsheron Peninsula in Azerbaijan. Laboratory experiments showed that A. muganicus has an innate predisposition to choose ants as prey. The natural diet of this species was determined by sampling individuals seen feeding in the field (n = 64). Ten arthropod orders were represented. Seven were from the class Insecta (Coleoptera, Collembola, Diptera, Heteroptera, Homoptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera) and three from the class Arachnida (Acari, Araneae, Pseudoscorpiones). Collectively, four orders accounted for > 70% of the prey records: Hymenoptera (20%), Lepidoptera (19%), Acari (19%) and Homoptera (14%). No other order accounted for > 10% of the prey records. Of the 45 insects among the prey, 13 (29%) were Hymenoptera, with ants (family Formicidae) alone accounting for 24% of the prey records. Although ants were the preferred prey of A. muganicus, as revealed by laboratory testing, and also the most common single category of prey from the field prey records, records of A. muganicus feeding on prey other than ants were actually more common than records of it feeding on ants, suggesting that, besides prey choice, other factors have a strong influence on the diet of this species.

Trophic specialisation in a predatory group: the case of prey‐specialised spiders (Araneae)

“…On the other hand, the realised trophic niche of euryphagous specialists may include alternative prey in the field. For example, two salticid spiders, Aelurillus muganicus Dunin and A. m‐nigrum Kulczynski, were found to catch several arthropods, including ants, in nature, but laboratory experiments revealed a preference for ants and the use of a prey‐specific capture strategy for ants (Huseynov, Cross & Jackson, ; Huseynov, Jackson & Cross, ).…”

Taxon-biased diet preference in the ‘generalist’ beetle-hunting wasp Cerceris rubida provides insights on the evolution of prey specialization in apoid wasps

“…The ‘diet preference’ of a predator is the tendency to consume some prey more frequently than would be expected based on the relative abundances of alternative prey in the environment (Sih & Christensen, 2001; Huseynov, Cross & Jackson, 2005). Diet preferences are ecologically important because nonrandom predation has important effects on the relative impacts of predators on different prey (Paine, 1966; Sih et al.…”

Comportamiento depredador de dos especies de arañas del género Phonotimpus (Araneae: Phrurolithidae)

“…por ambas especies de arañas, se deriva de su experiencia previa con esta especie de presa, cuando se le alimentó en el periodo previo al inicio de las observaciones, sin embargo esta experiencia se limitó a una o dos ocasiones con este tipo de presa, lo cual no es definitivo para desarrollar su preferencia, ni mucho menos para desarrollar la eficiencia de captura que se observó en comparación con los otros tipos de presas. Es sabido que algunas arañas errantes (e. g. Lycosidae, Salticidae y Thomisidae) son capaces de capturar colémbolos, pero estos no están entre sus presas principales (Hallander, 1970;Guseinov et al, 2004;Huseynov et al, 2005;Guseinov, 2006). Sin embargo, en pruebas de consumo en laboratorio Triaeris stenaspis (Oonopidae), Liophrurillus flavitarsis (Phrurolithidae) y Phrurolithus festivus (Phrurolithidae) sí tuvieron a los colémbolos como presas principales, o casi exclusivas (Pekár & Jarab, 2011;Korenko et al, 2014).…”