THE ROLE OF EXPERIENCE IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PREDATORY BEHAVIOR IN PHIDIPPUS-REGIUS, A JUMPING SPIDER (ARANEAE, SALTICIDAE) FROM FLORIDA

Inexperienced Phidippus regius spiderlings used significantly different techniques to capture larvae of a lepidopteran (Trichoplusia ni) and adult dipterans (Drosophila melanogaster). The predatory behaviours of P. regius spiderlings and adults were similar, indicating that the conditional predatory strategy is pre-programmed in this species (i.e. different responses to different prey do not depend on prior experience with those prey). Motility, shape, size, and presence versus absence of wings, all appear to be cues used by the spiderlings to evaluate prey type. The spiderlings' success at capturing prey improved rapidly over time. Experimental results suggest that this improvement depends mainly on effects of experience, but also partly on maturation. Also, spiderlings apparently learn to avoid ants. Tests with spiderlings apparently only recently emerged from an eggsac indicated that for c. 3 days after emergence, spiderlings give priority to dispersal behaviour over predatory behaviour.