Summary
Philoponella oweni (Uloboridae) is a facultatively communal orb-web spider found in arid regions in the southwestern United States. Within one habitat solitary adult females and communal groups of adult females coexist.
This study compared the reproductive output (egg production) and reproductive success (production of live offspring) of solitary and communal females. There was no significant difference in the mean number of egg-cases produced by solitary and communal females, but communal females produced significantly more eggs per egg-case. However, communal females suffered significantly higher rates of egg-case parasitism from the pteromalid wasp Arachnopteromalus dasys. As a result, the mean number of liver offspring produced by solitary and communal females did not differ. Thus, both strategies led to roughly equal reproductive success. The advantages of aggregation of adults may be significant in the evolution of social behavior in spiders.
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Smith, D.R. Reproductive success of solitary and communal Philoponella oweni (Araneae: Uloboridae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 11, 149–154 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300057
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300057