Abstract
Understanding how the psychology of predators shapes the defenses of colorful aposematic prey has been a rich area of inquiry, with emphasis on hypothesis-driven experiments that independently manipulate color and palatability in prey to examine predator responses. Most of these studies focus on avian predators, despite calls to consider more taxonomically diverse predators. This taxonomic bias leaves gaps in our knowledge about the generalizability of current theory. Here we have adapted tools that have been successfully used with bird predators and scaled them down and tested them with smaller predators (Habronattus jumping spiders) and small insect prey (termites, milkweed bug nymphs, pinhead crickets, fruit flies). Specifically, we test (1) the application of denatonium benzoate (DB) to the surface of live termites, crickets, and fruit flies, and (2) the effectiveness of manipulating the palatability of milkweed bug nymphs through diet. We also test the effectiveness of combining these palatability manipulations with various color manipulations. Across several experiments, we confirm that our palatability manipulations are not detectable to the spiders before they attack (i.e., they do not produce aversive odors that spiders avoid), and show that unpalatable prey are indeed quickly rejected and spiders do not habituate to the taste with experience. We also investigate limitations of these techniques by assessing possible unintended effects on prey behavior and the risk of contact contamination when using DB-treated prey in experiments. While similar tools have been used to manipulate color and palatability with avian predators and relatively large insect prey, we show how these techniques can be effectively adapted for use with small invertebrate predators and prey.
Highlights
Many organisms use conspicuous warning signals to advertise their unpalatability [1, 2]
Methods for independently manipulating palatability and color in small insect prey Here, we describe and test the effectiveness of two methods to manipulate the palatability of small insect prey and present various methods to manipulate prey color that can be used in conjunction with these palatability manipulations
It is possible other subtle aspects of prey behavior might change with denatonium benzoate (DB) application and influence predation, so we suggest future studies consider all relevant aspects of behavior and carefully consider the context in which they assess these behaviors
Summary
Many organisms use conspicuous warning signals to advertise their unpalatability [1, 2]. Bright and conspicuous coloration is often paired with distastefulness, presumably because it heightens the capacity for predator learning [3,4,5,6] and reduces the chance that a predator will misidentify prey [7]. Understanding how such prey defenses and warning colors. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript
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