We provide a brief report on the feeding behavior of two salticid species in Bijilo Forest, The Gambia: Holcolaetis vellerea Simon 1909 and Menemerus bivittatus (Dufour 1831). The former was observed consuming a giant huntsman spider ?Heteropoda sp. (Sparassidae), which was much larger than itself and represents the first published evidence of araneophagy in this genus. M. bivittatus was frequently observed loitering close to, and orientated towards the nest entrance of stingless bees (Apidae, Apinae, Meliponini), watching them as they entered and left, but no other salticid species were observed doing this. Araneophagy and prey-specific predation behavior are well known in salticids but the behaviors reported here have not previously been documented.
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1 April 2009
Feeding behavior of trunk-living jumping spiders (Salticidae) in a coastal primary forest in the Gambia
David Penney,
Ray Gabriel
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araneophagy
Holcolaetis vellerea
Hypotrigona
Meliponula
Menemerus bivittatus
Sparassidae