JUVENILE NEPHILA (ARANEAE, NEPHILIDAE) USE VARIOUS ATTACK STRATEGIES FOR NOVEL PREY.

Nephila clavipes (Linnaeus 1767) and N. pilipes (Fabricius 1793) juveniles exposed to a novel and potentially dangerous prey item frequently attack using thrown silk. To quantity the frequency with which N. clavipes opt to use thrown silk. naive hand-reared small N. clavipes juvenile females were observed attacking a new prey type, stingless bees. Repeated exposure to the stingless bees suggests that the spiders incorporate prior experience into prey attack strategies, as experienced spiders attacked using the more usual Nephila long-bite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]