First record of Thaumasia Perty, 1833 nursery web spider (Araneae: Pisauridae) preying upon Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in the Neotropical region

Silvio F. B. Lima; Marcio B. DaSilva; Paulo G. L. Coelho Júnior

doi:10.37486/2675-1305.ec08022

Authors

Silvio F. B. Lima Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Cajazeiras, PB, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7892-5773
Marcio B. DaSilva Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2824-1071
Paulo G. L. Coelho Júnior Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, PB, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0000-2037-1472

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37486/2675-1305.ec08022

Keywords:

Araneomorphae, Caatinga, Insecta, Paraíba, predation

Abstract

Thaumasia Perty, 1833 are opportunistic spiders that inhabit the Neotropical region. This study reports a spider of the genus Thaumasia preying upon Polistes canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) in semiarid region of Brazil. A spider of the genus Thaumasia was observed moving rapidly from the fountain's water surface to capture an individual of P. canadensis. After successfully capturing the wasp, Thaumasia sp. was observed partially perched on the wall of the fountain, with the prey still on the water surface and trapped by its chelicerae. The pedipalps and chelicerae of Thaumasia sp. manipulated the head of P. canadensis, which stopped moving shortly after being captured, probably because of the action of the spider's venom. The study records a wasp in the diet of Thaumasia based on the capture of a prey not reported in the literature and allows a better understand the ecological role of arachnids in ecosystems.

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