“Influence of Prey Movement On the Performance of Simple Detours By Jumping Spiders”, 1992 (; similar):
The influence of prey movement on the performance of simple detours by salticids was investigated. Seven species were studied. Two subject species, Portia fimbriata and Portia labiata, are specialized web-invading species that eat other spiders. The other five species investigated (Euryattus sp., Euophrys parvula, Marpissa marina, Trite auricoma and Trite planiceps) are more typical cursorial hunters of insects. We provide evidence that:
salticids will initiate detours toward motionless prey;
salticids are more inclined to initiate detours toward moving than toward motionless prey;
salticids tend to complete detours even when prey that had been moving at the start remains stationary during the detour;
prey movement makes the salticid more likely to stalk and attack when prey is only a few centimetres away and in a position from which it can be reached by a straight-line pursuit;
- Portia is more inclined than the other salticids to initiate detours to motionless prey, then to stalk and attack motionless prey when close, than the other salticids are.
Mechanisms that might account for Portia being different from the other salticids are discussed.