Robert R. Jackson, Ximena J. Nelson, Godfrey O. Sune.2005. A Spider that Feeds Indirectly on Vertebrate Blood by Choosing Female Mosquitoes as Prey. PNAS 102:42 15155-15158
A. SUMMARY
So far, no spider has ever fed directly on vertebrate blood; at least not to our knowledge. A small Eastern Africa jumping spider (Salticidae), Evarcha culicivora, has been found to feed indirectly on vertebrate blood by selecting recent blood meal female mosquitoes as its’ preferred prey. The experiments that these environmentalists have shown that these spiders can not only equate its prey by sight, but it can also choose its preferred prey by odor as well.
The reasons suggested for this preferred choice is that the female mosquito has specialized mouth parts that allow them to feed on vertebrate blood where the spider does not, causing the spider to prefer female mosquitoes who have just recently had a blood meal as there prey so that the spider can indirectly feed off of the blood from the vertebrate animal.
In order for the environmentalists to decide if this was truly the case they had to decipher between diet, preference, and choice of the spiders. Environmentalist also have determined that the Salticids unlike most spiders have amazing eyesight, only 5x less than a humans. This makes choosing the preference a lot easier for them because they can use sight.
B. HYPOTHESIS
The small jumping spider (Salticidae) from East Africa, Evarcha culicivora, feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by choosing female mosquitoes, who have recently had blood meals, as the spiders preferred prey.
C. 1) METHODS AND RESULTS
At Thomas Odhiambo Campus of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, in Mbita Point Western Kenya, E. culicivora was kept with a photoperiod of 12 light and 12 dark hours, cages with an abundance of twigs, standard spider-laboratory procedures were adopted, and feedings on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays with female blood meal... [continues]
A. SUMMARY
So far, no spider has ever fed directly on vertebrate blood; at least not to our knowledge. A small Eastern Africa jumping spider (Salticidae), Evarcha culicivora, has been found to feed indirectly on vertebrate blood by selecting recent blood meal female mosquitoes as its’ preferred prey. The experiments that these environmentalists have shown that these spiders can not only equate its prey by sight, but it can also choose its preferred prey by odor as well.
The reasons suggested for this preferred choice is that the female mosquito has specialized mouth parts that allow them to feed on vertebrate blood where the spider does not, causing the spider to prefer female mosquitoes who have just recently had a blood meal as there prey so that the spider can indirectly feed off of the blood from the vertebrate animal.
In order for the environmentalists to decide if this was truly the case they had to decipher between diet, preference, and choice of the spiders. Environmentalist also have determined that the Salticids unlike most spiders have amazing eyesight, only 5x less than a humans. This makes choosing the preference a lot easier for them because they can use sight.
B. HYPOTHESIS
The small jumping spider (Salticidae) from East Africa, Evarcha culicivora, feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by choosing female mosquitoes, who have recently had blood meals, as the spiders preferred prey.
C. 1) METHODS AND RESULTS
At Thomas Odhiambo Campus of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, in Mbita Point Western Kenya, E. culicivora was kept with a photoperiod of 12 light and 12 dark hours, cages with an abundance of twigs, standard spider-laboratory procedures were adopted, and feedings on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays with female blood meal... [continues]
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