Peucetia viridans
Creators: name: Guzmán-Vásquez, Héctor M.
name: García, Miguel Ángel García
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Araneae
Oxyopidae
Peucetia
Peucetia viridans

description: Results
Observations were made during the flowering season (between April and June), which is the season with the highest abundance and richness of phytophagous beetles in the study area (Mateos et al. 2021). Most of the observations were carried out in the municipality of Villa de Zaachila. More than 50 seedlings of Solanum mitlense Dunal were found at this locality. Each seedling had three to five individuals of P. viridans, mostly juveniles. Lynx spiders were also found feeding on beetles or stalking prey on plants of Croton ciliatoglandulifer Ortega, Wigandia urens (Ruiz and Pav.) Kunth and Lantana camara Linnaeus.
In the municipality of San Pedro Mártir, spiders were found only in W. urens. This was due to the low availability of plants with foliage. The prey observed at this locality were only bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), a species that has been well documented (Turner 1979; Nyffeler et al. 1987; Maloney et al. 2003; Tadey et al. 2013) and was not the subject of the present study.
At the same locality it was surprising to see a large concentration (approx. 100 individuals) of Thasus gigas (Klug, 1835) (Hemiptera: Coreidae) on W. urens. It is noteworthy that leaf-footed bugs were not predated by P. viridans; this may have been due to the abundance, appearance and intimidating size of the leaf-footed bugs, as they were relatively larger than the spiders – although Arango et al. (2000) mention that P. viridans sometimes feeds on individuals up to 2.5-times its size. It is possible that this was due to an evasive strategy of the spiders, as they were at a proportional disadvantage to the leaf-footed bugs (approx. 1:20).
Lantana camara (Figure 2 (a)), S. mitlense (Figure 2 (b)), and W. urens (Figure 2 (c)) represent new host records for P. viridans. Prior to the present work, 19 species, 17 genera, and 11 host families were known. With the new records presented in this study, 22 species, 20 genera, and 14 families are now known (Table 1).
Diplotaxis trapezifera Bates, Macrodactylus fulvescens Bates (both Melolonthinae), Paranomala discoidalis Bates, Strigoderma costulipennis Bates, Strigoderma sulcipennis Burmeister (all three Rutelinae), and Euphoria pulchella (Gory and Percheron) (Cetoniinae) represent new records of beetles of the family Scarabaeidae, prey of P. viridans.
Observations
Diplotaxis trapezifera Bates, 1887
On 11 April 2022, observations were made of P. viridans feeding on a female of D. trapezifera on W. urens leaves (Figure 2 (d)). On the same day, at least 10 dead individuals of D. trapezifera that had previously been fed on by P. viridans on S. mitlense leaves were observed. On 18 June 2022, an additional eight carcases of D. trapezifera were found on S. mitlense leaves.
Diplotaxis trapezifera has been associated with the following plant species: Zea mays L. (Gramineae) and Agave tequilana Weber (Agavaceae) (Lugo-García et al. 2011b; Aragón et al. 2018; Mateos et al. 2021).
Macrodactylus fulvescens Bates, 1887
On 6 June 2020, observations were made of P. viridans feeding on a male individual of M. fulvescens on L. camara leaves (Figure 2 (e)). On 18 June 2022, two individuals of M. fulvescens were found to have been predated by P. viridans on leaves of S. mitlense.
Macrodactylus fulvescens has previously been associated with Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. (Amaranthaceae), Zea mays L. (Gramineae), Persea americana Mill. (Lauraceae), Pyrus comunis L., Rubus adenotrichus Schltdl., Rubus ideanus L., Prunus persica (L.) Stokes, Prunus domestica L., Crataegus mexicana Moc. and Sessé ex DC., Cotoneaster pannosus Franch. (all Rosaceae), Coffea arabica L. (Rubiaceae), Salvia hispanica L. (Lamiaceae) and Fraxinus sp. (Oleaceae) (Arce-Pérez and Morón 2000; Bandano and Vergara, 2011; Ramírez-Salinas et al. 2011; Lugo-García et al. 2011a; Téllez-Carmona et al. 2018; Aragón-Sánchez et al. 2021).
Paranomala discoidalis (Bates, 1888)
On 18 June 2022, observations were made of P. viridans feeding on P. discoidalis on a leaf of S. mitlense (Figure 2 (f)).
Paranomala discoidalis has been associated with Hibiscus rosasinensis L. (Malvaceae) (Micó et al. 2003).
Strigoderma costulipennis Bates, 1888
On 6 June 2021, a specimen of S. costulipennis was observed attached to the trichomes of C. ciliatoglandulifer (Figure 2 (g)). Previously this species had been hunted by P. viridans, which, upon noticing the presence of the observer (first author), hid behind the leaves.
The larvae of S. costulipennis have been associated with Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. (Amaranthaceae) (Cuate-Mozo et al. 2014; Aragón-Sánchez et al. 2018), while the adults have been associated with plants of the genus Acacia (Fabaceae) (Bader 1992).
Strigoderma sulcipennis Burmeister, 1844
On 18 June 2022, a dead specimen of S. sulcipennis that had been preyed upon by P. viridans was observed on the leaf of S. mitlense (Figure 2 (h)).
Strigoderma sulcipennis has been associated with Acacia farnesiana (L.) Willd., Crotalaria longirostrata Hook. and Arn. (both Fabaceae), Donnellsmithia hintonii Mathias and Constance (Apiaceae), Eupatorium adenophorum Hort.Berol. ex Kunth (Asteraceae), Pavonia sp. (Malvaceae), Sacharum officinarum L. (Poaceae), Phaseolus vulgaris L. (Leguminosae), Tagetes erecta L. (Asteraceae), Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. (Amaranthaceae), Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae), Magnolia pugana (Iltis and Vazquez) (Magnoliaceae) and Zea mays L. (Gramineae) (Bader 1992; Matienzo et al. 2003; Pacheco et al. 2006, 2008; Aragón et al. 2009, 2018; Pardo-Locarno et al. 2017; Aragón-Sánchez et al. 2018; Hernández-Vera et al. 2021; Córdova-Ballona et al. 2022).
Euphoria pulchella (Gory and Percheron, 1833)
On 18 June 2022, observations were made of P. viridans feeding on an individual of E. pulchella on a leaf of S. mitlense. As the observer (first author) approached to take photographs, the spider released its prey and moved away (Figure 2 (i)).
Euphoria pulchella has been associated with Buddleja wrightii Robinson (Scrophulariaceae), Baccharis sp., Eupatorium sp., Tagetes erecta L. (all Asteraceae), Acacia angustissima (Mill.), Acacia schaffneri (S. Watson) F. J. Herm. (both Fabaceae), Gossypium sp. (Malvaceae), Croton suberosus Kunth, Jatropha curcas L. (all Euphorbiaceae), Hyptis mociniana Betnh. (Lamiaceae), Bursera subomonoliforme Engl., Bursera copallifera (Sessé and Moc.ex DC.) Bullock (both Burseraceae), Cucurbita pepo L. (Cucurbitaceae), Spondias purpurea L. (Anacardiaceae), Mimosa sp. (Mimosaceae), Esenbeckia sp. (Rutaceae), Serjania sp. (Sapindaceae) and Solanum sp. (Solanaceae) (Deloya 1988; Pacheco et al. 2006, 2008; Orozco 2012; Alonso and Lezcano 2014; Rivas-Arancibia et al. 2015; García-Alonso et al. 2018; Maes and Ratcliffe 2020).
description: Published as part of Guzmán-Vásquez, Héctor M. & García, Miguel Ángel García, 2024, New observations on prey scarab beetles and host plants of the green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans (Hentz, 1832) (Araneae: Oxyopidae) in Oaxaca, Mexico, pp. 2003-2016 in Journal of Natural History 58 (45 - 48) on pages 2006-2009, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2024.2406048, http://zenodo.org/record/14241657