01323nas a2200157 4500008004100000245009700041210006900138300001400207490000700221520080900228653001201037653002101049653001601070100002701086856005201113 2014 eng d00aNatural prey of the crab spider Xysticus marmoratus (Araneae: Thomisidae) on Eryngium plants0 aNatural prey of the crab spider Xysticus marmoratus Araneae Thom a130–1320 v423 a

The natural prey of medium-sized juvenile (ca. 3 mm) crab spiders Xysticus marmoratus Thorell 1875 inhabiting Eryngium biebersteinianum plants was studied on the Absheron Peninsula, Azerbaijan. The percentage of specimens found feeding on prey was low (3.4%). Xysticus marmoratus is a polyphagous predator with representatives of four arthropod orders found in its diet. The primary food of X. marmoratus was ants (Formicidae), which accounted for 83.3% of the total number of prey. The length of prey killed by X. marmoratus ranged between 0.87–7.50 mm (mean 2.96 mm) and constituted from 28.5–300.0% (mean 96.9%) of the length of their captors. The most frequently captured size group of prey was 50–70% the length of the spiders.

10aAraneae10akleptoparasitism10aMilichiidae1 aHuseynov, Fizuli, oglu uhttp://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1636/P13-86.1