Male chemical cues as reliable indicators of infection in the wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata

Sexual signals can convey important information about mate quality, such as critical information about a signaler's health status, helping an individual to avoid infected or immunocompromised conspecifics. Chemical signals are especially important in this context, because they represent an honest and dynamic signaling modality that receivers can use to make updated mate choice decisions to avoid compromising their own health. In this study, we investigated the viability of male chemical cues in the wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata as a reliable indicator of health status. Using video playback with images of an average male that is simultaneously paired with male cuticular compounds on filter paper, we show that females are more receptive to videos paired with cues from control males rather than infected males. We also show that these cuticular compounds can be isolated and retain similar female behavioral responses when extracted with a nonpolar solvent, suggesting that these cuticular compounds may not be just complex hydrocarbons, but a combination of cuticular compounds. This is the first evidence for female discrimination and recognition of male chemical cues in this species, which opens up important new avenues of research in a well‐studied species with complex multimodal signaling.