Widow spiders alter web architecture and attractiveness in response to same-sex competition for prey and mates, and predation risk.

ABSTRACT: Female-female competition in animals has rarely been studied. Responses of females that compete context-dependently for mates and prey, and seek safety from predators, are ideally studied with web-building spiders. Cobwebs possess unique sections for prey capture and safety, which can be quantified. We worked with Steaoda grossa females because their pheromone is known, and adjustments in response to mate competition could be measured. Females exposed to synthetic sex pheromone adjusted their webs, indicating a perception of intra-sexual competition via their sex pheromone. When females sequentially built their webs in settings of low and high intra-sexual competition, they adjusted their webs to increase prey capture and lower predation risk. In settings with strong mate competition, fema

SUBMITTER: Fischer A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10567780 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature