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Prey and predators of the Wolf spider Lycosa lugubris
Author(s) -
Edgar Walter D.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1969.tb03897.x
Subject(s) - predation , biology , spider , wolf spider , predator , ecology , abundance (ecology) , zoology
85 % of the prey of Lycosa lugubris (Walckenaer) consists of Diptera, Hemiptera and Araneae. The food taken appears to differ at different times of year; this is more probably due to changes in abundance of prey than to changes in preference by the spider. L. lugubris is not an active predator. It does not run down its prey but remains motionless and captures what comes within reach. It probably feeds infrequently in the field and it carries its prey for between one and two hours. An attempt was made to assess possible predators, and the species may be its own most important predator.