Double deception: ant-mimicking spiders elude both visually- and chemically-oriented predators.

Area of Science:

• * Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• * Behavioral Ecology
• * Chemical Ecology

Background:

• * Biological mimicry often involves multiple signals (multimodal) to deceive a target audience.
• * The spider Peckhamia picata visually mimics the ant Camponotus nearcticus, reducing predation by visually-oriented jumping spiders.
• * Predator and prey interactions are complex, involving various sensory modalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To investigate the multimodal deception strategies of the myrmecomorphic spider Peckhamia picata.
• * To determine if Peckhamia picata deceives predators and other organisms using chemical cues in addition to visual cues.
• * To explore the concept of 'double deception' in biological mimicry.

Main Methods:

• * Observational studies on Peckhamia picata interactions with jumping spiders, sphecid wasps, and ants.
• * Behavioral assays to assess aggression and predation rates.
• * Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of cuticular hydrocarbons to compare chemical profiles.

Main Results:

• * Peckhamia picata experiences reduced aggression from spider-hunting sphecid wasps and its model ant, Camponotus nearcticus.
• * Both sphecid wasps and ants primarily use chemical cues for prey identification.
• * Peckhamia picata does not chemically resemble its model ants; its cuticular hydrocarbon levels are lower than those of ants and non-mimic spiders.

Conclusions:

• * Peckhamia picata employs a novel 'double deception' strategy, misleading visually-oriented predators with appearance and chemically-oriented predators/antagonists with chemical cues.
• * This multimodal mimicry provides protection against diverse threats.
• * The findings suggest that 'purely visual' mimicry may be more common than previously thought, involving chemical deception as well.