Subsociality in Helvibis thorelli keyserling 1884 (Araneae, Theridiidae, Theridiinae) from French guiana

Jonathan A. Coddington, Ingi Agnarsson*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Preliminary observations on Helvibis thorelli (Theridiidae) in French Guiana suggest a typical subsocial behavior in this species, with nests consisting of a mother and her offspring who collaborate in prey capture. Communal feeding occurs over several juvenile instars. Subsociality has previously been described in three theridiid genera (Achaearanea, Anelosimus, Theridion) and predicted to occur in further genera of the subfamily Theridiinae. Our findings support this prediction and have important implications for comparative studies as they add another independent observation of social behavior: current phylogenetic knowledge implies subsociality evolved independently in each of these genera.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)642-645
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Arachnology
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006

Other keywords

  • Communal feeding
  • Evolution of sociality
  • Maternal care

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