Argyrodes

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Argyrodes, also called dewdrop spiders, is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1864. [1] They occur worldwide, and are best known for their kleptoparasitism. They can spin their own webs, but tend to invade and reside in their hosts' webs. [2] This relationship can be commensal or even mutual if the dewdrop spider feeds on small trapped insects that are not eaten by the host. [3] Some species can even prey upon the host. [2]

Contents

Dewdrop spiders
Temporal range: Neogene– Present
Argyrodes Kaldari 01.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Theridiidae
Genus: Argyrodes
Simon, 1864 [4]
Type species
A. argyrodes
(Walckenaer, 1841)
Species

93, see text

Synonyms [4]

The genus name is a combination of the Ancient Greek "argyros" (άργυρος), meaning "silver", and the suffix "-odes", meaning "like". [1]

Description

Most species are relatively small, and many are black with silvery markings. A. incursus has a body length of 3 to 4.5 millimetres (0.12 to 0.18 in), [7] while A. fissifrons has a body length of about 12 millimetres (0.47 in). [3] The body has a characteristic conical or triangle shape with a shorter third pair of legs, common in web dwelling spiders. [8] The silver coloration of Argyrodes may be able to attract moths and other insects as it stimulates their photoreceptors and may resemble starlight. [9]

Distribution

Most Argyrodes are found in the tropics, though fifteen species are found in the United States. [2] A. elevatus is found in the southern US, A. nephilae in Florida and A. pluto in Maryland, Virginia, and Missouri. The latter species has been reported as far south as Chihuahua and Jamaica as well. [10]

Behavior

Argyrodes are kleptoparasitic spiders that live on the webs created by orb-weaver spiders. These spiders feed on the small prey items caught in the host webs that they parasitize. In some instances, Argyrodes may even feed on previously digested carcasses that remain on the web. [11] While these spiders are well known for being kleptoparasitic, they are also arachnophagous, meaning they prey on other spiders. Argyrodes will wait for a time when the host spider is vulnerable, such as during molting, and will attack and feed on it. This is true for the host spider's offspring as well, however Agyrodes will only feed on other spiders in some instances. [12]

It has been suggested that Argyrodes may have a mutualistic relationship with the host. The silver coloration of Argyrodes was found to attract more prey, particularly moths, to the host's web. This allows for larger prey items to be attracted for the host spider while Argyrodes is able to consume the smaller unwanted prey. [9] A common misconception about Argyrodes is that it steals prey from the host spider, but recent research has showed that Argyrodes rarely steals large prey items from the host, and only eats what the host spider typically does not want. [9] They have been noticed in complex Joro spider webs, for example. [13]

Kleptoparasitic spiders such as Argyrodes tend to prefer larger host webs over small ones, and multiple spiders often inhabit the same host web. Clustered webs were found to be preferred by Arygrodes, but only because these webs are generally larger than isolated ones. [14] There does not appear to be any preference for clustered webs over isolated webs when comparing the number of spiders per web area. [14] Kleptoparasitic spiders tend to spend much of their time on the outskirts of the host web, using this area as a safe place outside of the host spiders typical monitoring range. In addition to stealing food from the host web, dewdrop spiders are also known to use the host web as a location for mating as well as a place to hang their egg sacs. [14]

Species

As of May 2020 it contains ninety-three species and five subspecies, found in Asia, South America, North America, Oceania, Africa, the Caribbean, on the Canary Islands, and Saint Helena: [4]

Formerly included:

Nomina dubia

See also

Related Research Articles

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<i>Chrysso</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Enoplognatha</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Tetragnatha</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Erigone</i> (spider) Genus of spiders

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<i>Ariamnes</i> (spider) Genus of spiders

Ariamnes is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1869. Some species have greatly elongated abdomens, making them resemble a twig.

<i>Euryopis</i> Genus of spiders

Euryopis is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Anton Menge in 1868.

<i>Dipoena</i> Genus of spiders

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<i>Phoroncidia</i> Genus of spiders

Phoroncidia is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by J. O. Westwood in 1835.

<i>Faiditus</i> Genus of spiders

Faiditus is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Eugen von Keyserling in 1884.

<i>Neospintharus</i> Genus of spiders

Neospintharus is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by H. Exline in 1950. It was synonymized with Argyrodes in 1962, but revalidated in 2004.

<i>Rhomphaea</i> Genus of spiders

Rhomphaea is a genus of comb-footed spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1872.

References

  1. 1 2 Simon, E (1864). Histoire naturelle des araignées (aranéides). Paris: Roret. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.47654.
  2. 1 2 3 Guarisco 1999
  3. 1 2 Tso 2000
  4. 1 2 3 "Gen. Argyrodes Simon, 1864". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2020. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  5. 1 2 Levi, H. W.; Levi, L. R. (1962). "The genera of the spider family Theridiidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 127: 16.
  6. Levi, H. W. (1972). "Taxonomic-nomenclatural notes on misplaced theridiid spiders (Araneae: Theridiidae), with observations on Anelosimus". Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. 91: 534.
  7. "Red-spotted Argyrodes". Australian Museum. 2003. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  8. Five species of kleptobiotic Argyrodes Simon (Theridiidae: Araneae) from eastern Australia: descriptions and ecology with special reference to southeast Queensland. 1999.
  9. 1 2 3 "A Color-Mediated Mutualism between Two Arthropod Predators". Current Biology. 23 (2): 172–176. 2013-01-21. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.11.057 . ISSN   0960-9822.
  10. "Genus Argyrodes - Dewdrop Spiders". bugguide.net. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  11. Vollrath, Fritz (1979-05-01). "Behaviour of the kleptoparasitic spider Argyrodes elevatus (Araneae, theridiidae)". Animal Behaviour. 27: 515–521. doi:10.1016/0003-3472(79)90186-6. ISSN   0003-3472.
  12. Whitehouse, Mary E. A. (1986-04-01). "The foraging behaviours of Argyrodes antipodiana (Theridiidae), a kleptoparasitic spider from New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 13 (2): 151–168. doi:10.1080/03014223.1986.10422658. ISSN   0301-4223.
  13. "What Do Joro Spiders Eat?". Joro Spider Information. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 Agnarsson, Ingi (December 2003). "SPIDER WEBS AS HABITAT PATCHES—THE DISTRIBUTION OF KLEPTOPARASITES (ARGYRODES, THERIDIIDAE) AMONG HOST WEBS (NEPHILA, TETRAGNATHIDAE)". Journal of Arachnology. 31 (3): 344–349. doi:10.1636/s02-21. ISSN   0161-8202.

Further reading