How Blood-Derived Odor Influences Mate-Choice Decisions by a Mosquito-Eating Predator

Evarcha culicivora (Araneae, Salticidae) feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by choosing, as preferred prey, bloodcarrying female mosquitoes. Mutual mate-choice behavior is also pronounced in this species. Here we show that, when E. culicivora feeds indirectly on blood, it acquires a diet-related o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2009-11, Vol.106 (46), p.19416-19419
Main Authors: Cross, Fiona R., Jackson, Robert R., Pollard, Simon D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Animals
Anopheles - physiology
Anopheles gambiae
Biological Sciences
Blood
Brevibucca
Chironomidae
Culicidae
Diet
Diptera - physiology
Entomology
Feeding Behavior
Female
Female animals
Folktales
Insect behavior
Male
Male animals
Mating behavior
Mosquitos
Odorants
Odors
Passeriformes - physiology
Predation
Salticidae
Sex Factors
Spiders
Spiders - physiology
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Summary:Evarcha culicivora (Araneae, Salticidae) feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by choosing, as preferred prey, bloodcarrying female mosquitoes. Mutual mate-choice behavior is also pronounced in this species. Here we show that, when E. culicivora feeds indirectly on blood, it acquires a diet-related odor that makes it more attractive to the opposite sex. The mate-choice decisions of the adults of both sexes were investigated in a series of experiments based on comparing how long the test spider remained close to the odor of one source spider on one day and to the odor of a different source spider on the following day. Four different maintenance diets for source spiders were used in these experiments: bloodfed female mosquitoes (Culicidae, Anopheles gambiae ss), sugar-fed female mosquitoes, male mosquitoes, and lake flies (Chironomidae, Nilodorum brevibucca). Both sexes of E. culicivora spent more time close to the odor of opposite-sex conspecifics that had been on a diet of bloodfed mosquitoes (blood diet) instead of any of the three nonblood diets. Opposite-sex conspecifics that had been on a nonblood diet became more attractive once they were switched to a blood diet. That the attractive odor from blood dissipates was shown when spiders became less attractive once they were switched to a nonblood diet or subjected to a fast. However, there was no evident preference for the odor of a same-sex conspecific on a blood diet instead of a lake fly diet. These findings are discussed in the context of sexual selection and sensory exploitation.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0904125106