A comparison of adhesive performance among six cursorial spider species

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  A comparison of adhesive performance among six cursorial spider species Abstract The ability to adhere to surfaces is particularly relevant for cursorial predatory arthropods like hunting spiders, which often traverse relatively complex environments characterized by large variation in substrate properties. Here, we evaluated the adhesive performance of six hunting spider species that are common in eastern temperate North America and lack specialized tarsi for climbing smooth or inclined surfaces [Lycosidae: Pardosa lapidicina Emerton, 1885 and Rabidosa rabida (Walckenaer, 1837); Oxyopidae: Oxyopes salticus Hentz, 1845; Pisauridae: Pisaurina mira (Walckenaer, 1837); Dolomedidae: Dolomedes triton (Walckenaer, 1837), and Dolomedes scriptus Hentz, 1845]. We tested adhesion performance as shear load resistance (g) on a glass plate, and as the angle of failure (°) when the plate was gradually inclined relative to horizontal. Average angle of failure and shear resistance differed among ...

A Vespertilionid Bat (Eptesicus sp.) Caught in a Spider Web of Eriophora ravilla

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A Vespertilionid Bat (Eptesicus sp.) Caught in a Spider Web of Eriophora ravilla

Abstract

In this note we report on a small Vespertilionid bat belonging to the genus Eptesicus (Vespertilionidae) caught in a web of the orb-weaver spider Eriophora ravilla (Araneae: Araneidae). The observation was made in the Isthmian–Atlantic Moist Forests ecoregion of Costa Rica. Predation on bats by Eriophora species has only previously been positively documented for Eriophora fuliginea. This is the first record of E. ravilla catching a bat in its web, and also represents the first record of an Eptesicus bat as a potential prey of spiders.

Fabrício H. Oda, Andrew R. Gray "A Vespertilionid Bat (Eptesicus sp.) Caught in a Spider Web of Eriophora ravilla," Caribbean Journal of Science, 55(1), 151-155, (27 May 2025)