LAUSR

Orb-weaving spiders may encounter predacious insects in their own webs, leading to the question of how they may prey on them. To address this question, the French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre (1905) observed how the orb-weaving spider Argiope bruennichi (Araneae: Araneidae) responded to a praying mantis, Mantis religiosa (Mantodea: Mantidae), that was placed experimentally on the spider's orb web. Interestingly, the spider immobilized the mantis by wrapping the mantis' body with silk threads spun from the spider's abdominal spinnerets, and successfully preyed upon it. However, Fabre (1905) asserted that he had never observed orb-weaving spiders attacking praying mantises under field conditions. Because mantises frequently fly (e.g., Yager and Svenson 2008), they run the risk of becoming trapped in spider webs (Nentwig 1982). What factors have reduced the chances of observing predation by orb-weaving spiders on mantises under field conditions? Although mantises may potentially be trapped by spider webs, this question has remained unexplored. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.