Laboratory Observations on the Behavior of the Salticid Spider Phidippus audax (Hentz)

Abstract

The behaviors of various jumping spiders, Salticidae (Attidae), have been reported on numerous occasions by early naturalists (e.g., Darwin, 1845; Peckham, 1887, 1889, & 1890, & others). Salticid spiders are typically characterized by their jumping ability, day light insect hunting, colorful ornamentation, and epigamic displays (Peckham, 1890; Crane, 1948a, 1949a, & 1949b; Gertsch, 1949; Compton, 1954). Some studies relevant to the behaviors of salticid spiders will be briefly described here. Jum!ping behavior is a noted characteristic of salticid spiders. It has been often reported and described (Darwin, 1845; Peckham, 1890; Crane, 1949b; Gertsch, 1949). However, much of this information appears to be descriptive in nature. With the exception of Crane's work (1949b) there apparently has been little or no objective data obtained on the frequency of jumping, or on the related releaser stimuli for jumping, in the salticid spiders. Many of the early observations on saliticids were concerned with the role of their colorful ornamentation in sexual selection (Peckham, 1889, & 1890; Crane, 1949b). These observations were made both in field and laboratory situations. More recently, sexual displays and mating behavior, observed in the field, have been described in detail (Snetsinger, 1955). A recent study has been conducted on the behavior of Phidippus audax (Hentz) as a predator of Allepeira lemniscata (Walckenaer), the Basilica spider. Roving Phidippus audax apparently discovers and attacks other spiders in nature (Lamore, 1958). There are experiments and reports indicating that salticids are capable of learning simple discriminations and habituate to auditory and vibratory stimulation (Peckham, 1887; Heil, 1936; Drees, 1950, & 1952). Finally, Petrunkevitch (1926) suggested that behaviors (instincts-species-specific behaviors) may be of value in the classification of spiders. This paper is primarily concerned with presenting an objective method for observing and recording the behavior of salticid spiders. This method is applicable for both laboratory and field observation, however, only data from laboratory observations will be reported in this paper. The salient features of this method are: (a) to present a time-sequence sampling method for observing and recording behaviors of salticid spiders; (b) to define descriptively the behaviors to be observed; (c) to