Scientists in Sydney, Australia, have announced that they have identified a species of jumping spider in East Africa that particularly enjoys hunting female mosquitoes that are filled with blood.
Researchers at Macquarie University stated that this is a rare example of a predator choosing its prey based on what the prey has eaten.
The species, scientifically named Evarcha cullicivora, is a mosquito-eating spider found near Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda. Like other spiders, these arachnids lack specialized body parts and a proboscis to suck blood, which means they cannot extract blood directly from the bodies of animals.
Ximena Nelson and her colleagues studied the Evarcha cullicivora spider and discovered that it frequently selects female mosquitoes that are full of blood. They prefer such mosquitoes over other prey like dragonflies, male mosquitoes, and nectar-feeding female mosquitoes.
The researchers indicated that these spiders detect their prey through visual or olfactory cues. This ability to identify prey using these senses is innate rather than learned from previous experiences or based on the prey’s capabilities. Further studies have shown that blood meals are crucial from a biological perspective for the E. culicivora spider.
(Science & Nature)
