Juvenile bolas spiders attract psychodid flies.

Area of Science:

• Arachnology
• Chemical Ecology
• Behavioral Ecology

Background:

• Female bolas spiders (Mastophora) use pheromone mimicry to attract male moths.
• Adult Mastophora spiders employ a sticky
• bolas
• to capture prey.
• Juvenile bolas spiders lack a bolas and were observed to capture smaller prey using their legs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prey attraction strategies of juvenile bolas spiders.
• To determine if juvenile bolas spiders specialize on specific prey species.
• To provide the first evidence of prey attraction by juvenile bolas spiders before they develop their characteristic bolas.

Main Methods:

• Field experiments conducted over two years.
• Use of sticky traps baited with juvenile bolas spiders of different Mastophora species.
• Comparison of captured prey (primarily moth flies) between experimental and control traps.
• Identification of captured moth fly species (Psychodidae).

Main Results:

• Juvenile bolas spiders consistently attracted specific species of male moth flies (Psychodidae).
• Mastophora phrynosoma spiderlings were most effective at attracting male Psychoda phalaenoides.
• Mastophora hutchinsoni spiderlings showed attraction towards male Psychoda trinodulosa.
• Mastophora bisaccata exhibited varied prey attraction, potentially indicating cryptic species.

Conclusions:

• Juvenile bolas spiders utilize chemical cues to attract specific prey, primarily moth flies.
• This prey attraction strategy is distinct from the adult bolas hunting method.
• The findings suggest prey specialization in early developmental stages of Mastophora spiders.
• This study presents the first evidence of juvenile bolas spiders actively attracting prey before developing their bolas.