Prey preferences of Portia labiata, P. africana, and P. schultzi, araneophagic jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae) from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Kenya, and Uganda

Prey‐preference behaviour of three species of araneophagic salticid ( P. labiata from the Philippines and Sri Lanka, P. africana from Kenya and Uganda, and P. schultzi from Kenya) is studied in the laboratory for the first time. “Well‐fed” (7 day fast) and “starved” (14 day fast) males and females of each species have a pronounced preference for web‐building spiders over insects, and a less pronounced preference for salticid spiders over insects. Also, well‐fed and starved males and females of these species prefer web‐building spiders to salticids. Preferences for taxonomic type of prey are the same regardless of whether living, active prey or dead, motionless lures are used, suggesting that all these araneophagic salticids can distinguish between the different taxonomic categories of prey without reference to their different movement patterns. For each species, females—relative to males—preferred larger prey. When extra‐starved (21 day fast), males and females of all species appeared to take prey of different taxonomic categories indiscriminately. Findings from this study are discussed in relation to earlier studies on myrmecophagic salticids and on other araneophagic salticids.