Orb-web Design of Garden Spider, Argiope Appensa (Walckenaer, 1841) (Araneae:araneidae) (original) (raw)
2011, Australian journal of basic and applied sciences
This study was conducted to describe the stabilimentum structure in the garden spider, Argiope appensa both in field conditions and in the laboratory. The presence or absence of stabilimenta was examined in the field and in the laboratory; the influence of foraging success in stabilimentum building behavior was also investigated. Results from field survey and laboratory experiments show that stabilimenta is not an obligatory component in web building of A. appensa since some spiders did not add web decoration on their webs. The form and occurrence of stabilimenta varied with spider size. Smaller individuals (body size :< 0.6 cm) commonly built discoid (disc-shaped) stabilimenta while larger individuals (body size: >0.6cm) spun strictly cruciate (cruciform) or part of cruciate stabilimenta. Among the juveniles, the stabilimentum size is positively correlated with the spider's body size; hence, larger individuals tend to spun larger discoid stabilimenta than the smaller ones. In the laboratory, well-fed A. appensa built more stabilimenta and more often than starved spiders. These results argue against the prey attraction hypothesis, but not the predator defense hypothesis, since well-fed spiders invested more in stabilimenta than those starved spiders. Also, A. appensa may adjust the structure and frequency of their stabilimenta probably to suit multiple functions throughout their life history. A. appensa are able to increase or decrease their web sizes, capture area (portion of the web with sticky or capture spirals), and mesh height (distance between sticky spirals) in response to changing prey size and density. Starved spiders spun significantly larger webs and capture area than well-fed spiders. In the absence of potential prey, spiders significantly constructed very narrow-meshed webs or tightly spaced capture spirals than in the presence of potential prey. The present study may demonstrate that spiders can manipulate their web architecture in response to different prey availability.
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