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53 results for “Widow spider”
Copulation interruption decreases female reproductive success in a false widow spider
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Data from: The role of male body size in mating success and male-male competition in a false widow spider
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Urban heat island conditions experienced by the Western black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus): extreme heat slows development but results in behavioral accommodations
Herein lies data on urban h eat island conditions for black widow spiders across the CAP study area. It also includes data on the development speed and behavioral responses of spiders reared in the lab at these UHI temperatures. The urban heat island (UHI) effect describes the capture of heat by built structures (e.g. asphalt), resulting in elevated urban temperatures. The UHI is a well-studied phenomenon, but only a handful of studies have investigated trait-based shifts resulting from the UHI, and even fewer have attempted to quantify the magnitude of the UHI experienced at the microclimate scale. Here, using a common urban exploiter, the Western black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus), we show that the UHI experienced by spiders in July in their urban Phoenix, AZ refuges is 6 degrees C hotter (33 degrees C) than conditions in the refuges of spiders from Sonoran Desert habitat outside of Phoenix-area development (27 degrees C). We then use this field microclimate UHI estimate to compare the development speed, mass gain and mortality of replicate siblings from 36 urban lineages reared at temperatures that reflect urban and desert habitats. We show that extreme heat is slowing the growth of spiderlings and increasing mortality. In contrast, we show that development of male spiders to their penultimate moult is accelerated by 2 weeks. Lastly, in terms of behavioral shifts, UHI temperatures caused late-stage juvenile male spiders to heighten their foraging voracity and late-stage juvenile female spiders to curtail their web-building behavior.
Invasive brown widow spiders disperse aerially under a broad range of environmental conditions
<p>Spiders commonly disperse on silk lines as juveniles by means of rappelling or ballooning. These modes of dispersal, especially long-distance dispersal via ballooning, can greatly increase the distance an individual can move, and at the population level, the speed of range expansion and likelihood of gene flow. Nevertheless, few studies have examined how spiders disperse under field conditions, and which environmental and meteorological conditions may affect their decision to disperse. We tested dispersal by spiderlings of the invasive brown widow (<em>Latrodectus geometricus</em>) under field conditions in the Negev Desert of Israel. We documented pre-dispersal (climbing and tiptoeing) and dispersal (short-distance dispersal by rappelling and long-distance dispersal by ballooning) behaviours during the day (n = 147 spiders) and night (n = 171 spiders), while recording wind speed, temperature, and humidity. We found that spiders ballooned significantly more during the day (14.3%) compared with 1.8% of spiders ballooning at night. At night, spiders were more likely to disperse in conditions of higher wind speeds, lower temperature, and higher humidity, whereas during the day, environmental factors were less predictive of dispersal behaviour. In addition, we found significant differences in the proportion of spiderlings showing pre-dispersal and dispersal behaviour depending on family line. In conjunction with human-mediated dispersal, ballooning and rappelling may be an important mechanism of range expansion in the brown widow spider. Understanding the environmental and genetic factors affecting dispersal may lead to better management of invasive species.</p>
Invasive widow spiders perform differently at low temperatures than conspecifics from the native range
<p>Temperature challenges are one of the leading abiotic causes of success or failure of non-native species in a novel environment, and this is particularly true for low temperatures. Establishing and reproducing in a novel thermal environment can alter survival, behaviour, and traits related to fitness. It has been proposed that plasticity or adaptation of thermal tolerance may allow an introduced species to thrive, or that successful invaders may be those with a thermal breadth in their native habitat that encompasses their new environment. Here, we tested these hypotheses using native and invasive populations of Australian redback spiders (Latrodectus hasselti). We measured how exposure to temperatures (exposure to 15°C and 25°C, respectively) common to invasive and native range habitats affected behavioural and life-history traits and tradeoffs that may underlie fitness in an invasive population detected in 1995 in Japan and a native population from Australia. We found that the critical thermal minimum (CTmin) was higher in the invasive population from Japan than in the native population, but critical thermal maximum (CTmax) did not differ between populations. Compared to the invasive population, eggs from the native population had a longer development time and lower hatching success at 15°C. Both populations performed equally well at 25 °C, as measured by egg development time and hatching success. Invasive juveniles that developed at 15 °C were slower to explore a novel environment and less bold when tested at 25 °C vs. 15 °C. In comparison, the native population showed faster average exploration, with no differences in response at the two development or testing temperatures. Overall, L. hasselti from Japan maintained hatching success and development across a wider temperature range than the native population, indicating greater thermal breadth and higher behavioural plasticity. These results support the importance of plasticity in thermal tolerance and behaviour for a successful invasion under novel environmental temperatures.</p>
Figures 1–5 in The first report of the widow spider Latrodectus elegans (Araneae: Theridiidae) from India
Figures 1–5. Latrodectus elegans, female from Manipur (WILD-11-ARA-1113)
Images 1–5 in The first report of the widow spider Latrodectus elegans (Araneae: Theridiidae) from India
Images 1–5. Latrodectus elegans, female.
Parasitoid development and superparasitism in invasive versus native widow spider host egg sacs
<p>The brown widow spider, <em>Latrodectus geometricus</em>, is a hazardous and highly invasive species globally. One of the suggested mechanisms enhancing this spider's invasiveness is lower susceptibility to natural enemies compared to other widow species. The parasitoid wasp, <em>Philolema latrodecti</em>, is known to attack egg sacs of <em>L. geometricus</em>, as well as those of other species of <em>Latrodectus</em>. Despite its potential importance as a natural enemy of <em>L. geometricus</em>, little is known about the development of this wasp and factors mediating its parasitism success. We investigated the development of this parasitoid in two widow spider host species, one native to Israel, the white widow, <em>L. pallidus</em>, and the invasive brown widow, <em>L. geometricus</em>. We compared wasp developmental success in egg sacs exposed to increasing wasp densities. We found increased wasp emergence and brood size, and smaller emerging wasp body size, with increasing wasp density. Across all wasp densities, more and larger parasitoids developed in the egg sacs of the native host species, <em>L. pallidus</em>, compared to the invasive host species, <em>L. geometricus</em>. Parasitoid sex ratio was highly female-biased and the proportion of males increased with wasp density, suggesting local mate competition. Overall, our results suggest that <em>L. pallidus</em> is a better host for the egg sac parasitoid <em>P. latrodecti</em>, which could give a competitive advantage to the less-affected invasive brown widow spider.</p>
Data for: Invasive brown widow spiders avoid parasitism despite high densities
<p><span>Invasive species are sometimes less susceptible to natural enemies compared to native species, but the mechanism is often unclear. </span><span>Here we tested two potential mechanisms for lower parasitism of invasive species: density-dependent parasitism and preference for </span>human-dominated <span>habitats. W</span>e investigated how variation in host density and habitat type affect egg sac parasitism in two widow spider species (family Theridiidae). We compared parasitism on the egg sac of the brown widow, <em>Latrodectus geometricus</em>, an urban invasive species, and the white widow, <em>L. pallidus</em>, a species native to Israel. To investigate variation in host and parasitoid density, we measured nearest-neighbor distance between spider webs and parasitism rates in 16 sites, and in a single site monthly throughout a year. In <em>L. pallidus</em>, denser sites were more heavily parasitized (up to 55%) and parasitism rate increased with population density throughout the season. Extremely dense <em>L. geometricus</em> populations, however, had very low rates of parasitism (0-5%). We then conducted an egg sac transplant experiment in human-dominated and natural habitats. We found no parasitism of either species in the human-dominated habitat, compared to 30% parasitism of both species in the natural habitat. In addition, we found evidence for higher predation of <em>L. pallidus</em> than of <em>L. geometricus</em> egg sacs, particularly in the natural habitat. These combined results suggest that the human-dominated habitats inhabited by <em>L. geometricus</em> have a lower abundance of predators and parasites. We conclude that lower parasitism and predation in human-dominated habitats could contribute to the invasion success of<em> L. geometricus</em>.</p>
Black Widow Spider Antivenin for Patients With Systemic Latrodectism
ClinicalTrials.gov study NCT00657540. IPD Sharing: UNDECIDED. Countries: 1. Publications: 1.
Invasive widow spiders perform differently at low temperatures than conspecifics from the native range
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Data from: Maternal care thwarts parasitoids in the invasive brown widow spider (Latrodectus geometricus)
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The effects of food availability on reproductive success in a false widow spider
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Parasitoid development and superparasitism in invasive versus native widow spider host egg sacs
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Data for: Invasive brown widow spiders avoid parasitism despite high densities
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Invasive brown widow spiders disperse aerially under a broad range of environmental conditions
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Dispersal and life history of brown widow spiders in dated invasive populations on two continents
<p>Theory and empirical work suggest that behaviours such as dispersal and exploration are predictors of invasive success, and that behaviours may shift predictably after invasive populations have established and spread. However, there are limited data on temporal patterns in the distribution of behavioural traits linked to the timeline of establishment of invasive species. We examine dispersal and exploration, along with life history traits that may be linked to behaviour, across multiple invasive populations of the brown widow spider (<i>Latrodectus geometricus</i>). This global invader has established populations across the United States and Israel. Using this temporal and spatial variation, we tested predictions about changes in suites of traits over establishment time. We compared trait distributions of four U.S. populations of <i>L. geometricus</i> to patterns in four populations in Israel. We predicted that selective filters during the invasion process would result in more dispersive, more exploratory spiders that are larger and more fecund in recently established populations, but, if tradeoffs occur, dispersal would be favoured at the expense of fecundity and size in recent populations. We found more frequent and faster dispersal in more recently established populations in Israel, but not the United States. Spiders in more recently established populations in Israel were larger than those in older populations, but there were no consistent patterns across U.S. populations. However, there was evidence in both the U.S. and Israel for differing tradeoffs among fecundity, dispersal, and size. In more recently-established populations, spiders had lower fecundity than expected based on body size, but were more variable in resource allocation to egg sacs. The results suggest that in some populations, trade-offs underlying dispersal, fecundity, and body size are shaped by the time interval, and thus the number of generations, since establishment, with implications for the role of evolutionary processes in invasion success.</p>
Differential parasitism of native and invasive widow spider egg sacs
<p>During colonization, invasive species establish and spread to new locations, where they may have an advantage over native species. One such advantage may be avoidance of predators or parasites by means of better defences or due to lower suitability as a host. We conducted field surveys and lab behavioural experiments to investigate the differential susceptibility of two widow spider species—one native to Israel, the white widow spider <em>Latrodectus pallidus</em>,<em> </em>and one invasive species, the brown widow spider, <em>Latrodectus geometricus</em>—to an egg sac parasitoid wasp, <em>Philolema latrodecti</em>. In collections of egg sacs from six paired sites of <em>L. geometricus </em>and <em>L. pallidus</em> populations in the Negev Desert, Israel, we found higher parasitism rates on the egg sacs of the native <em>L. pallidus</em>. In no-choice trials, we found that wasps were more likely to parasitize and oviposited longer on <em>L. pallidus</em> egg sacs than on <em>L. geometricus </em>egg sacs. In two-choice tests with spider webs and egg sacs, parasitoids made first contact with <em>L. pallidus </em>webs more often and faster. After developing inside of <em>L. pallidus </em>egg sacs, more parasitoids emerged and were larger than those emerging from <em>L. geometricus</em> egg sacs. Potentially better defence of the <em>L. geometricus</em> egg sacs as well as the parasitoid's fitness advantages gained from parasitizing <em>L. pallidus</em> egg sacs may explain the higher parasitism rate in the native species. Our results suggest that the invasion and establishment success of <em>L. geometricus</em> is due, in part, to its ability to escape parasitism.</p>
Dispersal and life history of brown widow spiders in dated invasive populations on two continents
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Differential parasitism of native and invasive widow spider egg sacs
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