Perception and predation of ladybird spiders and other red-and-black arthropods by 3 predators

Abstract 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 colored insects and in particular ladybird beetles. Here, we tested the hypothesis of defensive mimicry in this species using 3 co-occurring visually oriented predators: mantids, lizards, and birds, possessing different visual abilities (di- and tetrachromatic vision). We compared 2 salient traits (movement and coloration) of Eresus males and 3 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 3 predators should not be able to distinguish the coloration of Eresus from that of 2 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 3 predators consistent with the Batesian form of mimicry, but when considering evasion abilities, they could be classified as quasi-Batesian mimics.