v12i1.305

Submitted date: 4 August 2022
Accepted date: 29 January 2022
Published date: 12 May 2023
Pp. 36

Indian palm squirrel (Funambulus palmarum) feeds on spider egg sacs

P.D. Abegunawardhana & S.K. Bandara
*Corresponding author. E-mail: sanjaya.k.bandara@gmail.com

The Indian palm squirrel, Funambulus palmarum (Linnaeus, 1766) (Rodentia: Sciuridae) is known to feed on a wide range of plant items in the wild, including nuts, seeds, fruit, and bark, and will readily consume discarded food around human habitations. The species has been observed to prey opportunistically on insects such as termites and beetles. In addition, cannibalistic behaviour has also been recorded. Here we report the first observation of F. palmarum preying on spider egg sacs.

Section Editor: Sumudu Fernando