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Stegodyphus sarasinorum
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Stegodyphus sarasinorum
Stegodyphus sarasinorum, also known as the Indian cooperative spider, is a species of velvet spider of the family Eresidae. It is native to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. This spider is a social spider that exhibits communal predation and feeding, where individuals live in large cooperatively built colonies with a nest or retreat constructed of silk woven using leaves, twigs, and food carcasses, and a sheet web for prey capture.[citation needed]
Individual S. sarasinorum spiders that have attacked prey once are more likely to attack prey again, independent of their body size or hunger level. Stegodyphus is the only genus of the family Eresidae that is arboreal, not terrestrial.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum, like most Eresids, are short, stout spiders lined with several fine hairs. These fine hairs give the spiders an ash-colored appearance. The dorsal side of the abdomen is marked with three longitudinal white stripes and six pairs of dots, which are part of the spider's patterning. There are two irregular surfaces containing the six spinnerets encased in a structure called the cribellum. Unlike most spiders, S. sarasinorum does not have a well defined cephalic groove. The arrangement of the eight eyes consisted of two rows of four and two in front and the other rows facing the side to allow for the wider range of vision. Their modified mandibles, known as chelicerae, are black in color and the claws are curved for defense on the sides of the body.
Within the genus Stegodyphus, 20 species were assigned according to social status, distribution range, and phenotypic expression of male and female reproduction characteristics. Three of the social spider species are Stegodyphus mimosarum, Stegodyphus africanus, and Stegodyphus sarasinosum. S. sarasinorum is a social spider, hence the populations have high levels of inbreeding and relatedness. The low rates of dispersal and high turnover rates result in low gene flow and lack of speciation. Accordingly, social spiders are thought to likely be evolutionary dead ends especially with their practice of obligate group living.
The colonies are highly dependent on females, and they have highly skewed sex ratios in favor of females. For every female, there are 0.15 to 0.28 males.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum is native to south and southeast Asia, predominantly in the countries of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. One of the preferred places of S. sarasinorum is the prickly pear bush, because it serves as a strong support for their silken dwellings and webs. In some cases, the bushes are covered by these spiders’ dwellings to the extent that the leaves are not visible. These spiders are more abundant on bushes, trees, and fences where they can easily construct their webs on the sturdy surface. S. sarasinorum likes building nests in shaded areas which is an advantage for catching prey. They also live along rivers, especially when prey abundance is considerably higher near sources of water. S. sarasinorum prefers to build their nests over thick continuous spreads of vegetation, using a fence or bridge for support.
Social Stegodyphus sp. are usually found in locations of complex vegetation structure and reduced habitat niches as compared to solitary spiders. High vegetation productivity is correlated to higher insect prey biomass, therefore distribution patterns of these spiders is based on the availability of web building spaces and abundance of insect prey for them to thrive. Sturdier vegetation is necessary for nest building especially since Stegodyphus spiders tend to stay in the same spot. The environmental conditions are important cues for group living that prevent a loss of fitness as a result of high resource competition. Their tendency to engage in group living and cooperative breeding evolved due to high predation pressure and the ample prey availability makes permanent sociality an evolutionarily stable strategy.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum is largely dependent on communal living, and they disperse at a lower rate compared to most spiders. There are two main dispersal strategies that occur which are group dispersal to form nearby satellite colonies or solitary dispersal when a mated female leaves her natal colony and starts her own new independent colony. Colonies with more abundant food source were found to be more likely to disperse into satellite colonies, whereas less feed colonies tend to remain with their natal colonies. Solitary dispersers also face more of a predation risk and their fitness too does not improve when they leave their original colonies. One strategy used by group dispersers is capturing webs to improve feeding opportunities and increase space, however the webs can be disturbed by wind, rain, or other nearby animals.
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Stegodyphus sarasinorum
Stegodyphus sarasinorum, also known as the Indian cooperative spider, is a species of velvet spider of the family Eresidae. It is native to India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. This spider is a social spider that exhibits communal predation and feeding, where individuals live in large cooperatively built colonies with a nest or retreat constructed of silk woven using leaves, twigs, and food carcasses, and a sheet web for prey capture.[citation needed]
Individual S. sarasinorum spiders that have attacked prey once are more likely to attack prey again, independent of their body size or hunger level. Stegodyphus is the only genus of the family Eresidae that is arboreal, not terrestrial.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum, like most Eresids, are short, stout spiders lined with several fine hairs. These fine hairs give the spiders an ash-colored appearance. The dorsal side of the abdomen is marked with three longitudinal white stripes and six pairs of dots, which are part of the spider's patterning. There are two irregular surfaces containing the six spinnerets encased in a structure called the cribellum. Unlike most spiders, S. sarasinorum does not have a well defined cephalic groove. The arrangement of the eight eyes consisted of two rows of four and two in front and the other rows facing the side to allow for the wider range of vision. Their modified mandibles, known as chelicerae, are black in color and the claws are curved for defense on the sides of the body.
Within the genus Stegodyphus, 20 species were assigned according to social status, distribution range, and phenotypic expression of male and female reproduction characteristics. Three of the social spider species are Stegodyphus mimosarum, Stegodyphus africanus, and Stegodyphus sarasinosum. S. sarasinorum is a social spider, hence the populations have high levels of inbreeding and relatedness. The low rates of dispersal and high turnover rates result in low gene flow and lack of speciation. Accordingly, social spiders are thought to likely be evolutionary dead ends especially with their practice of obligate group living.
The colonies are highly dependent on females, and they have highly skewed sex ratios in favor of females. For every female, there are 0.15 to 0.28 males.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum is native to south and southeast Asia, predominantly in the countries of India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Myanmar. One of the preferred places of S. sarasinorum is the prickly pear bush, because it serves as a strong support for their silken dwellings and webs. In some cases, the bushes are covered by these spiders’ dwellings to the extent that the leaves are not visible. These spiders are more abundant on bushes, trees, and fences where they can easily construct their webs on the sturdy surface. S. sarasinorum likes building nests in shaded areas which is an advantage for catching prey. They also live along rivers, especially when prey abundance is considerably higher near sources of water. S. sarasinorum prefers to build their nests over thick continuous spreads of vegetation, using a fence or bridge for support.
Social Stegodyphus sp. are usually found in locations of complex vegetation structure and reduced habitat niches as compared to solitary spiders. High vegetation productivity is correlated to higher insect prey biomass, therefore distribution patterns of these spiders is based on the availability of web building spaces and abundance of insect prey for them to thrive. Sturdier vegetation is necessary for nest building especially since Stegodyphus spiders tend to stay in the same spot. The environmental conditions are important cues for group living that prevent a loss of fitness as a result of high resource competition. Their tendency to engage in group living and cooperative breeding evolved due to high predation pressure and the ample prey availability makes permanent sociality an evolutionarily stable strategy.
Stegodyphus sarasinorum is largely dependent on communal living, and they disperse at a lower rate compared to most spiders. There are two main dispersal strategies that occur which are group dispersal to form nearby satellite colonies or solitary dispersal when a mated female leaves her natal colony and starts her own new independent colony. Colonies with more abundant food source were found to be more likely to disperse into satellite colonies, whereas less feed colonies tend to remain with their natal colonies. Solitary dispersers also face more of a predation risk and their fitness too does not improve when they leave their original colonies. One strategy used by group dispersers is capturing webs to improve feeding opportunities and increase space, however the webs can be disturbed by wind, rain, or other nearby animals.
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