A taste for ants: potential obligate myrmecophagy in Lasaeola (Araneae: Theridiidae)
Abstract
Ant predation (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) by the genus Lasaeola Simon, 1881 is a behaviour sporadically reported in the scientific literature and frequently observed in images uploaded to various online platforms. While these scattered observations confirm the
existence of this predator-prey interaction, a systematic analysis of these observations has never been undertaken. Here, we present the
first formal analysis and compilation of documented cases of myrmecophagy in Lasaeola, providing evidence that obligate ant predation
is a likely foraging strategy for this genus.
A taste for ants: potential obligate myrmecophagy in Lasaeola (Araneae: Theridiidae),
Dentici A & Bianco VFL (2025), Eine Vorliebe für Ameisen: Potentielle obligate Myrmekophagie durch die Gattung Lasaeola (Araneae: Theridiidae), Heft 70, 24-28 10.30963/aramit7005