scholarly journals THE MOVEMENT AND ACTIVITY PATTERNS OF SIMILAR-SIZED ADULT AND JUVENILE CRAB SPIDERS MISUMENA VATIA (ARANEAE, THOMISIDAE)

10.1636/s03-5 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather L. Sullivan ◽  
Douglass H. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Misumena Vatia ◽  
Crab Spiders ◽  
Juvenile Crab

Line-following preferences of male crab spiders, Misumena vatia

2006 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 717-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne S. Leonard ◽  
Douglass H. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Male Crab ◽  
Misumena Vatia ◽  
Crab Spiders ◽  
Line Following

Experience levels of individuals in natural bee populations and their ecological implications

2005 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reuven Dukas ◽  
Douglass H Morse ◽  
Sean Myles
Keyword(s):  
Natural Populations ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Asclepias Syriaca ◽  
Experience Levels ◽  
Ecological Implications ◽  
Misumena Vatia ◽  
Level Of Experience ◽  
Long Term Behavior ◽  
Crab Spiders

Learning difficult tasks requires an extended period of experience. It is unclear, however, what level of experience is exhibited by individuals in natural populations. If many individuals are rather inexperienced at any given time, they may not possess subtle information concerning, for example, local distributions of reward and danger, which may require long acquisition periods. To quantify individual experience in field settings, we conducted a field study involving extensive marking of individual honey bees (Apis mellifera L., 1758) and bumble bees (Bombus vagans Smith, 1854 and Bombus terricola Kirby, 1837) visiting milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) patches that harbored crab spiders (Misumena vatia (Clerck, 1757)), which prey on bees. The vast majority of bees either were fully inexperienced or had little experience with the specific flower patch that they were visiting. It is likely that such inexperienced bees do not possess subtle local information involving either reward or danger. Contrary to our prediction, even the most experienced bees did not avoid experimental patches harboring crab spiders, perhaps because even these bees did not possess sufficient experience. Our results indicate that conclusions from controlled laboratory experiments may not readily generalize to natural field settings. Thus, we must gather additional data on the long-term behavior of individually marked bees in natural conditions to better understand the interactions among flowers, bees, and bees' predators.

Cues Associated With Patch-Choice Decisions By Foraging Crab Spiders Misumena Vatia

Behaviour ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 107 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 297-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglass H. Morse
Keyword(s):  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Risk Sensitivity ◽  
Single Plant ◽  
Patch Choice ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Misumena Vatia ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Crab Spiders ◽  
Selection Of

I tested the roles of insect prey presence, abundance, and distance in the selection of hunting sites by crab spiders Misumena vatia (Thomisidae) on milkweed inflorescences. Since the inflorescences on a single plant differ in numbers of prey attracted, one can also assess the effect of relative prey abundance on patch choice as overall prey abundance in an area changes. About three-fourths of the spiders chose the inflorescence attracting the most insects on a plant at densities from half to twice the normal prey, and in tests with additional prey presented at close range. Thus they appear to respond to relative prey densities in patch choice, and their accuracy of choice remains constant over a wide range of prey abundance. However, spiders without prey, and ones that had just fed, selected sites randomly. Individuals from all the other experiments left inflorescences, especially high-quality ones, more often as overall prey density increased. This result closely fits a risk-sensitivity model that predicts mobility in choice of hunting site if average prey availability exceeds that required to produce a clutch of eggs.

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