DOI: 10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgpz
title: Data for perception and predation of ladybird spiders and other red-and-black arthropods by three predators

description: Mimics are under selection from a community of predators possessing
 different perception abilities and modes of prey capture, yet the efficacy
 of Batesian/Müllerian mimicry in a mimetic complex has typically been
 tested using a single predator. The males of Eresus spiders appear to
 mimic black-and-red coloured insects, and in particular ladybird beetles.
 Here, we tested the hypothesis of defensive mimicry in this species using
 three co-occurring visually oriented predators: mantids, lizards, and
 birds, possessing different visual ability (di- and tetra-chromatic
 vision). We compared two salient traits (movement and colouration) of
 Eresus males and three putative co-mimics (Coccinella septempunctata,
 Graphosoma italicum, Pyrrhocoris apterus). We found that Eresus spiders
 are far more mobile than the co-mimics and this could make them
 unprofitable due to efficient evasion. According to visual models, all
 three predators should not be able to distinguish the coloration of Eresus
 from that of two co-mimics. The natural diet of the green lizard revealed
 that lizards captured on average Eresus spiders as frequently as
 co-mimics. In predation trials, mantises captured Eresus males at greater
 latency but with similar frequency as co-mimics. In the predation
 experiment, both hand-reared and wild-caught great tits captured Eresus
 males far more frequently than Coccinella beetles. Eresus males were
 palatable to all three predators consistent with Batesian form of mimicry
 but when considering evasion abilities, they could be classified as
 quasi-Batesian mimics.
description: The dataset includes four sheets. The first one contains
 reflectance measurements, the second one contains measurements of movement
 characteristics, the third one is a poo-content analysis of lizards, and
 the last one is experiment with mantises.
description: # Data for perception and predation of ladybird spiders and other
 red-and-black arthropods by three predators
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgpz](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z34tmpgpz) ## Description of the data and file structure Measurements of reflectances and movements of the study subjects and results of poo-content of lizards and predation experiments with mantises. ### Files and variables #### File: data.xlsx **Description:** * Reflectance sheet: wl-wavelength (nm). All other columns represent study species. Values are percentages. * Movement sheet: List of species and five movement characteristics. Specifically, mean velocity (cm/s), movement (%), angular velocity (degree/s), mobility (degree). * Lizard prey sheet: ID of a lizard, sex of a lizard, period sampling in months, prey category found, frequency of occurrence (1 - present, 0- absent). * Prey mantis sheet: prey type used, binary scores of attacks, binary scores for consumption, latency to attack in seconds, number of a trial, ID of mantis, binary coding of prey survival. NA stands for not available. Binary scoring: attacked (1), not attacked (0), fed (1), rejected (0), prey dead (1), alive (0). ## Code/software Any that can read MS Excel data type.