Shimoda Takeshi, Kishimoto Hidenari, Takabayashi Junji, Amano Hiroshi, Dicke Marcel
National Agricultural Research Center, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8666, Japan.
Exp Appl Acarol. 2009 Feb;47(2):111-20. doi: 10.1007/s10493-008-9205-3. Epub 2008 Oct 22.
Anti-predator defenses provided by complex webs of Tetranychus mites can severely impede the performance of generalist predatory mites, whereas this may not be true for specialist predatory mites. Although some specialist predatory mites have developed morphological protection to reduce the adverse effects of complex webs, little is known about their behavioral abilities to cope with the webs. In this study, we compared thread-cutting behavior of three specialist predatory mites, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Neoseiulus womersleyi and N. californicus, exhibited inside the complex web of T. urticae. No major difference was observed among them in the basic pattern of this behavior, using chelicerae and palps, and in the number of silken threads severed while moving inside the web. These results and observations suggest that each predator species cut many sticky silken threads to move inside the complex web without suffering from serious obstruction.
叶螨复杂的蛛网所提供的反捕食防御机制会严重阻碍多食性捕食螨的活动，而对于专食性捕食螨来说可能并非如此。虽然一些专食性捕食螨已经进化出形态上的保护机制来减少复杂蛛网的不利影响，但它们应对蛛网的行为能力却鲜为人知。在本研究中，我们比较了三种专食性捕食螨，即智利小植绥螨、沃氏新小绥螨和加州新小绥螨，在二斑叶螨复杂蛛网内的切丝行为。在使用螯肢和须肢进行这种行为的基本模式以及在蛛网内移动时切断的丝线数量方面，未观察到它们之间有重大差异。这些结果和观察表明，每种捕食螨在复杂蛛网内移动时都会切断许多粘性丝线，而不会受到严重阻碍。
