David and Goliath: potent venom of an ant-eating spider (Araneae) enables capture of a giant prey
Language English Country Germany Media print-electronic
Document type Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- MeSH
- Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel MeSH
- Ants drug effects physiology MeSH
- Spider Venoms chemistry pharmacology MeSH
- Spiders chemistry physiology MeSH
- Predatory Behavior physiology MeSH
- Body Size * MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Names of Substances
- Spider Venoms MeSH
It is rare to find a true predator that repeatedly and routinely kills prey larger than itself. A solitary specialised ant-eating spider of the genus Zodarion can capture a relatively giant prey. We studied the trophic niche of this spider species and investigated its adaptations (behavioural and venomic) that are used to capture ants. We found that the spider captures mainly polymorphic Messor arenarius ants. Adult female spiders captured large morphs while tiny juveniles captured smaller morphs, yet in both cases ants were giant in comparison with spider size. All specimens used an effective prey capture strategy that protected them from ant retaliation. Juvenile and adult spiders were able to paralyse their prey using a single bite. The venom glands of adults were more than 50 times larger than those of juvenile spiders, but the paralysis latency of juveniles was 1.5 times longer. This suggests that this spider species possesses very potent venom already at the juvenile stage. Comparison of the venom composition between juvenile and adult spiders did not reveal significant differences. We discovered here that specialised capture combined with very effective venom enables the capture of giant prey.
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