Diet composition and prey selectivity of Colombian populations of a social pseudoscorpion

作者：Garcia L F; Gonzalez Gomez J C; Valenzuela Rojas J C; Tizo Pedroso E^*; Lacava M

来源：Insectes Sociaux, 2016, 63(4): 635-640.

DOI：10.1007/s00040-016-0505-z

• Social behavior
• Feeding habits
• Foraging
• Pseudoscorpiones
• Atemnidae

Prey capture is a determinant aspect in arachnid sociality, since cooperative hunting allows the individuals access to very large prey. Although this behavior has been extensively studied in some spiders, the knowledge about some minor groups such as pseudoscorpions is still scarce. The aim of this study was to analyze diet composition, prey selectivity and prey size in Colombian populations of the social pseudoscorpion Paratemnoides nidificator. We collected prey captured by 112 colonies of P. nidificator as well as their potential prey. We found that hymenopterans (Formicidae) were the most consumed prey, while other items found in the diet included dipterans, embiopterans, hemipterans, mantids, neuropterans and spiders. When comparing prey composition, we found a low similarity between actual and potential prey. Paratemnoides nidificator showed a positive selectivity towards ant species which lacked strong defensive mechanisms, while avoiding potentially dangerous species which possess stingers or behaved aggressively. When evaluating size, we found that P. nidificator is able to prey on arthropods up to eight times larger than itself. These results suggest that by hunting in groups, P. nidificator is able to capture not only larger prey, but also prey which could be potentially dangerous for solitary individuals such as some ant species.

• 出版日期2016-11