Abstract
It is generally assumed that the choice of oviposition sites in arthropods is affected by the presence of food for the offspring on the one hand and by predation risk on the other hand. But where should females oviposit when the food itself poses a predation risk for their offspring? Here, we address this question by studying the oviposition behaviour of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii in reaction to the presence of its counterattacking prey, the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. We offered the mites a choice between two potential oviposition sites, one with and one without food. We used two types of food: thrips larvae, which are predators of eggs of predatory mite but are consumed by older predator stages, and pollen, a food source that poses no risk to the predators. With pollen as food, the predators preferred ovipositing on the site with food. This might facilitate the foraging for food by the immature offspring that will emerge from the eggs. With thrips as food, female predators preferred ovipositing on the site without thrips. Predators that oviposited more on the site with thrips larvae killed more thrips larvae than females that oviposited on the site without food, but this did not result in higher oviposition. This suggests that the females killed thrips to protect their offspring. Our results show that predators display complex anti-predator behaviour in response to the presence of counter-attacking prey.
Highlights
Predators have important effects on the dynamics of their prey, either directly through the consumption of prey, or through indirect, non-lethal effects (Sih et al 1985; Sih 1987; Kats and Dill 1998; Lima 1998)
Where should females oviposit when the food itself poses a predation risk for their offspring? Here, we address this question by studying the oviposition behaviour of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii in reaction to the presence of its counterattacking prey, the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis
Female predators oviposited more on the clean disc than on the disc with dangerous thrips larvae (V = 373, P = 0.003; Fig. 1), suggesting that they avoided ovipositing near prey that can attack and kill the predator’s eggs
Summary
Predators have important effects on the dynamics of their prey, either directly through the consumption of prey, or through indirect, non-lethal effects (Sih et al 1985; Sih 1987; Kats and Dill 1998; Lima 1998). Such role reversals, where vulnerable, young, small predators can be killed by large prey, are common in nature (Saito 1986; Barkai and McQuaid 1988; Polis et al 1989; Palomares and Caro 1999; Janssen et al 2002; Magalhaes et al 2005b) In such cases, antipredator behaviour is found in prey in response to the presence of predators or predator cues, and in predators in response to prey that are capable of counterattacking (Faraji et al 2001, 2002; Janssen et al 2002; Magalhaes et al 2005b). We study one type of antipredator behaviour in a predatory mite in response to the presence of prey that attack the eggs of the predatory mite
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