Abstract

WEB BUILDING, MODES OF HUNTING, AND FEEDING BEHAVIOUR IN ORB-WEB SPIDERS ARANEUS MITIFICUS AS KEY PREDATORS OF NOCTURNAL INSECTS IN THE GARDEN

Ravi Kant Upadhyay*

Abstract

The current study examined the eating habits, hunting strategies, and web construction of Orb-Web Spiders (Araneus mitificus). This spider species primarily hunts moths, flies, mayflies, crickets, tiny grasshoppers, and butterflies, mainly nocturnal insects in the garden. Predatory behaviour, including web spinning, hiding and attacking, has been routinely investigated for up to 40 days under typical climatic conditions, mainly temperature, sunlight and humidity. This study explains how to record and evaluate web development and hunting. The spinning of the web depends on natural day-night cycles, light and temperature; the frequency of web creation increased. The feeding behaviour of Araneus mitificus was found to be associated with seasonality and climatic conditions. This was also found to depend on the spinning of a web network. This article aims to investigate web construction, feeding behaviours, and neutralisation of prey and hunting behaviour.

Keywords: Spider webs, hunting behaviours, prey and predation, behavioural susceptibility.