v13i1.321

Submitted date: 28 August 2023
Accepted date: 30 April 2024
Published date: 30 May 2024
Pp. 26.

Predation of an orb-web spider (Argiope sp) on the baron (Euthalia sp)

M.S. Ahammed*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: md.sabbirahammedshawon@gmail.com

The giant cross spider (Argiope anasuja Thorell, 1887) is a carnivore that uses its orb-webs to trap insects and other invertebrates and is widely distributed throughout Seychelles, the Maldives, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Australia (Cocos Is.). Scant information is available on the diet of these spiders in Bangladesh. On 1 April 2021 at 12:17 h, we observed a giant cross spider predate on a butterfly at Kendua (23°04′38.4″N, 91°19′12.3″E), Cumilla, Bangladesh. It was a sunny day while we were passing by a home garden and encountered this phenomenon. The spider was moving on its web, approximately 3 m above the ground. At the same time, a common baron (Euthalia aconthea) was flying around it. After a while, the baron flew into the web and got trapped. As soon as the baron got trapped, the spider wrapped it in silk.

Section Editor: Matjaž Gregorič