Abstract
Recent studies have provided evidence that spiders’ color and pattern may attract prey items to their webs, thus increasing their foraging success. However, these studies were conducted on tropical spiders, and no studies have examined this phenomenon in temperate spiders. We examined the role of color and pattern in a North American spiny orb-weaver, Micrathena gracilis. We found that prey capture rates were similar between webs that contain spiders and webs in which spiders were removed. Additionally, we found a trend that painted spiders captured more prey than unpainted spiders. Although our results were not statistically significant, they contradict previous studies examining the role of color in prey attraction.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Perri K. Eason, Lina B. Rifai, and Tom C. Pelletier for providing helpful comments and advice. We also thank the Horner Endowment Fund for partial support of this study. Apo M. Teldy also provided support throughout the preparation of this manuscript.
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Vanderhoff, E.N., Byers, C.J. & Hanna, C.J. Do the Color and Pattern of Micrathena gracilis (Araneae: Araneidae) Attract Prey? Examination of the Prey Attraction Hypothesis and Crypsis. J Insect Behav 21, 469–475 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-008-9142-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-008-9142-3