The North American crab spider Misumenoides formosipes is a sit-and-wait predator of insect pollinators. Females are relatively sedentary and adult males must search for females within a heterogeneous habitat. Females are receptive to mating immediately after their adult molt and a first sperm priority pattern places a premium on male ability to locate females quickly. It is unknown what cues males use to navigate during searches for females. We report here on the male-biased operational sex ratio, the distances traveled and the possible cues utilized by moving males. Males in field trials moved towards inflorescences when both visual and chemical cues were available, but were less likely to do so when chemical cues were eliminated. Males in lab trials chose an inflorescence over leaf substrates even in the absence of visual cues. These findings support the hypothesis that these spiders utilize floral chemistry as an environmental cue to optimize mate searches. / Department of Biology
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/188408 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Stellwag, Leonard M. |
| Contributors | Dodson, Gary N. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | iii, 34 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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