Are Female Pardosa Spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) Inhabiting Agricultural Environments More Efficient Than Males in Capturing a Standard Prey of Various Sizes?
Are Female Pardosa Spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) Inhabiting Agricultural Environments More Efficient Than Males in Capturing a Standard Prey of Various Sizes?
Abstract
Wolf spiders (Lycosidae) are considered one of the main groups of predators in economically important crops. Despite their importance, most studies on these spiders have focused on Nearctic species and have examined diet composition and predation, primarily using females as models. Although males also hunt and consume prey, sexual dimorphism may lead them to exploit a different prey spectrum, potentially resulting in diets that differ from those of females in prey type, size range, and quantity consumed. Empirical evidence on male predatory behavior remains scarce, limiting our understanding of their functional role and potential contribution to biological control in habitats where males are frequent. In this study, we experimentally assessed prey acceptance, immobilization time, and the length of predatory behavior (attack performance) in both female and male Pardosa spiders when presented with crickets of different sizes (Acheta domesticus). To evaluate the effects of spider sex and relative prey size on attack performance, predatory behavior was recorded and analyzed using video recordings. We found that females accepted more prey than males in independent events; however, after accounting for relative prey size, no significant sex differences were detected in prey acceptance probability, immobilization time, or the length of predatory sequences. As the prey-to-spider size ratio increased, prey acceptance probability decreased, whereas immobilization time and predatory sequence length increased. These results indicate that female and male Pardosa spiders exhibit similar attack performance, particularly when capturing prey that is small relative to their body size. However, because females are larger than males, they may be able to exploit a broader range of prey sizes. Overall, body size emerges as a critical factor in prey selection by this generalist predator in both female and male spiders. Knowledge of optimal prey sizes, as well as sex-related differences in attack performance, can guide the selection of predators for biological control in economically important environments where predation plays a key role, such as agroecosystems.
Quijano-Cuervo, L.G., Pale, M.O., Hernández, L.F.G. et al. Are Female Pardosa Spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae) Inhabiting Agricultural Environments More Efficient Than Males in Capturing a Standard Prey of Various Sizes?. J Insect Behav 39, 22 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-026-09912-6