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Effects of prey characteristics and web structure on feeding and predatory responses of Nephila clavipes spiderlings

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Field studies were conducted with second and third instar spiderlings of the orb weaver Nephila clavipes. The influences of prey type, prey condition, and web structure on feeding and predation were assessed.

  2. 2.

    After emergence from the egg sac, spiderlings inhabited a communal, tangled web. Juveniles readily ate dead or immobile siblings and insect prey but did not attack live prey.

  3. 3.

    Communal web inhabitants were transferred to solitary, viscid spiral orbs built by spiderlings after dispersal. Some predatory responses were expressed by these subjects, while inhabitants of solitary orbs tested in communal webs did not attack prey. It is concluded that web structure influences predatory responses in early instars.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Tulane University, 70118, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

    Elizabeth M. Hill & Terry E. Christenson

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  1. Elizabeth M. Hill
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  2. Terry E. Christenson
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Hill, E.M., Christenson, T.E. Effects of prey characteristics and web structure on feeding and predatory responses of Nephila clavipes spiderlings. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 8, 1–5 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302838

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302838

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