Diet and Feeding Behavior of the Solpugid, EremobatesPalpisetulosus (Solpugida: Eremobatidae)

Eremobates palipsetulosus is a generalist predator which preysupon a wide variety of arthropods and seems to prefer smaller,soft-bodied prey items. Spiders as welt as orthopteran, lepidopteranand coleopteran insects comprise 76% of the total diet.When a prey item is encountered, the palpi are used to pull theprey toward the chelicerae. The prey is then grasped in the cheliceraewhich are used to fragment and grind the prey tissues forsubsequent ingestion. Increased hunger levels result in significantlyfaster ingestion time and higher capture rates. This is thefirst quantitative study on prey capture and feeding behavior forsolpugids