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Assessment of color and behavioral resemblance to models by inaccurate myrmecomorphic spiders (Araneae)
Author(s) -
Pekár Stano,
Jarab Martin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
invertebrate biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.486
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1744-7410
pISSN - 1077-8306
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7410.2010.00217.x
Subject(s) - mimicry , biology , foraging , spider , ecology , evolutionary biology , zoology
Abstract. According to anecdotal evidence, some spiders are inaccurate mimics of ants, that is, they resemble one or several ant models in coloration, but not in body form. Here, we studied the mimetic accuracy of individuals of three myrmecomorphic species, Liophrurillus flavitarsis, Phrurolithus festivus , and Micaria sociabilis , and their association with ant models to find evidence in support of hypotheses suggested to explain the maintenance of inaccurate mimicry. We found that all three species occur together with their models. Individuals of L. flavitarsis and P. festivus associated with a few ant species, while specimens of M. sociabilis only associated with a single species. The density of spiders was several hundred times lower than that of their models. The myrmecomorphs resembled their models in color, body length, and speed of movement but not in some aspects of behavior (specifically, gait and opisthosoma bobbing). Behavioral resemblance might markedly improve the inaccurate static visual resemblance, resulting in overall high accuracy. However, the constant movement of mimics and models may not allow operators to discriminate between them, thus relaxing selection for more accurate visual mimicry.