New predatory interaction of Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Nephilidae) on Fidicinini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in a forest fragment of the Neotropical region

Abstract

Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Nephilidae) is an orb web-building spider whose diet is primarily based on flying insects. This note aims to report the first predatory interaction of T. clavipes on a cicada of the genus Fidicina (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The predation event was observed (ad libitum) in the Benjamin Maranhão Botanical Garden situated in the Mata do Buraquinho Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Brazil. A specimen of Fidicina sp. was found freshly dead and trapped in the web of T. clavipes. The nephilid was observed moving slowly between the ventral and dorsal regions of the Fidicina sp. without weaving a web around the cicadid. Then, T. clavipes was observed perched on the left side of the Fidicina sp., with its pedipalps and chelicerae manipulating the thorax of the cicada. The spider had its second and third pairs of legs on the cicada, while the first and fourth pairs of legs were supported on the web. The spider always remained close to the cicada, without making any atypical movements even during the approach for observation and photographic recording or when the wind gently swayed the web. T. clavipes has a vital ecological role in controlling the population of flying insects. However, there are numerous aspects of the predatory interaction of T. clavipes that need further study, such as the insect richness that the species feeds on, as welll as the feeding behavior of the nephilid.

Gomes de Assis, H. Y. E., & Barbosa Lima, S. F. . (2026). New predatory interaction of Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Nephilidae) on Fidicinini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in a forest fragment of the Neotropical region. Acta Zoológica Lilloana, 879–890. https://doi.org/10.30550/j.azl/2499

Arácnido Taxonomy

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