Unusual Encounter: First Photographic Documentation of a Lynx Spider Oxyopes sp. (Araneae: Oxyopidae) Preying on Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from India
Unusual Encounter: First Photographic Documentation of a Lynx Spider Oxyopes sp. (Araneae: Oxyopidae) Preying on Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from India
Predator-prey interactions play a key role in structuring arthropod communities, and spiders are among the most abundant and diverse predators influencing these dynamics (Lang 2003; Birkhofer et al. 2013). Their predation strategies vary widely, from web-building to active hunting, enabling them to exploit a broad spectrum of prey types (Cardoso et al. 2011). Ladybird beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), well known as effective predators of aphids and other sap-sucking pests, possess several defenses including aposematic coloration, chemical secretions and a hardened cuticle that generally reduce their vulnerability to predators (Moore et al. 1990; Daloze et al. 1995; Ceryngier et al. 2012). Despite these adaptations, predation on ladybirds has been reported from a variety of vertebrate and invertebrate predators, though documented cases involving spiders are relatively few. Existing reports primarily concern web-building spiders that capture beetles incidentally in their webs (Nentwig 1983; Sloggett 2010). In contrast, actively hunting spiders seldom attack coccinellids, largely due to the beetles' thick exoskeleton and defensive chemistry (Nentwig 1986; Nyffeler 1999). These factors make any verified instance of a non-web-building spider successfully preying upon a ladybird beetle an event of particular ecological interest. Only a green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans Hentz, 1832 has been reported to prey upon Harmonia axyridis Pallas, 1773 in Florida, USA (Ceryngier et al. 2018). This makes the successful predation of a ladybird beetle by a lynx spider particularly intriguing.
During a field survey in February 2025, conducted in the guava orchards of the ICAR-AICRP on Fruits Research Unit, Mondouri, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, India (22°56′08.3″ N, 88°30′27.4″ E), a predation event was observed involving the coccinellid beetle Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coccinellidae: Microweiseinae: Serangiini) and a lynx spider (Oxyopes sp.) (Araneae: Oxyopidae). An adult S. parcesetosum was actively foraging on guava leaves infested with whiteflies when it was attacked by a lynx spider resting on a nearby leaf margin. The spider swiftly captured and subdued the beetle (Figure 1).
Field images were captured using Samsung S22 Ultra smartphone. Ladybird Species identification was done using a Zeiss Stemi 508 stereomicroscope guided by the protocols of Poorani (2024). The spider was identified following Gajbe (2008).
Tamoghno Majumder, Shashank Shekhar, Kusal Roy, Souvik Sen "Unusual Encounter: First Photographic Documentation of a Lynx Spider Oxyopes sp. (Araneae: Oxyopidae) Preying on Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from India," Entomological News, 133(2), 207-211, (15 March 2026) https://doi.org/10.3157/021.133.0214