How to visualize the spider mite silk?

Clotuche, Gwendoline; Goff, Guillaume Le; Mailleux, Anne-Catherine; Deneubourg, Jean‐Louis; Detrain, Claire; Hance, Thierry

doi:10.1002/jemt.20712

Cited by 19 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…This suggests that males preferred females that did not produce surrounding webs, probably based on the relationship between females and webs. Because T. urticae females deposit abundant faeces on their webs (Clotuche et al, 2009), such discrimination would be possible if the female body and her webs carry common chemical compounds. We predict that T. urticae males that failed to remember familiar females in the wild would prefer females unrelated to the surrounding webs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tetranchus urticae constructs complicated irregular webs on leaf surfaces (Saito, 1983), usually invisible even under a microscope (Clotuche et al, 2009). Because the mite usually lives under webs that protect it from rain (Davis, 1952) and predators (McMurtry et al, 1970), webs should be a key element of a shared environment among familiar individuals.…”

Section: Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

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Do Tetranychus urticae males avoid mating with familiar females?

Yoshioka

Yano

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, usually lives in kin groups under common webs. Because only the first mating results in fertilisation in female T. urticae, adult males guard quiescent deutonymph females, those at the stage immediately before maturation, to ensure paternity. Therefore, the cost of precopulatory guarding time seems considerable for males. Moreover, the fitness indices of daughters from intra-population crosses were significantly lower than those of daughters from inter-population crosses, indicating that inbreeding depression exists in T. urticae. Therefore, we hypothesised that T. urticae males should be choosy in guarding familiar females to avoid inbreeding depression. Furthermore, webs should be a key element of the environment shared by familiar individuals. In this study, we demonstrated the inbreeding avoidance mechanism of T. urticae males in relation to webs produced by familiar females (known webs) or unfamiliar females (unknown webs). Regardless of surrounding webs (known or unknown), males preferred unfamiliar to familiar females. We further examined whether males detect unfamiliar females by their webs. When males had experienced a female's web without encountering that female, they subsequently preferred females that did not produce the surrounding webs in which the choice experiment was conducted. Results suggest that putative kin recognition for inbreeding avoidance in T. urticae males is based on the relationship between webs and females, and not on the discrimination of webs in shared environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Research Articlementioning

confidence: 99%

Do Tetranychus urticae males avoid mating with familiar females?

Yoshioka

Yano

2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…The coloration technique described in Clotuche et al (2009) was used to visualize the silk. A standardized adult female (2 days old) was introduced on one lens for a period of 48 h. Once the mite was removed, cover glasses were colored with a Calcofluor white solution (DMSO, 0.5%) (Clotuche et al 2009). Images of colored cover glasses were captured using a Leica DMR epifluorescence microscope.…”

Section: Silk Deposit Observationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The silk road of Tetranychus urticae: is it a single or a double lane?

et al. 2012

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Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) is a phytophagous mite that forms huge colonies. All active members of a colony (immatures and matures, females and males) spin silken threads. These mites construct a common web that protects the colony from external aggression. The silk coverage is well-known to provide advantages to the colony but very little is known about the characteristics of the threads themselves. Here is the first quantification of the diameter of silken threads spun by two different stages (adult females and larvae) and its relationship with body size of the spinning individuals. Moreover, we observed how silk was deposited on the substrate through their two pedipalps. Threads were observed by means of transmission electron and fluorescence microscopy. Silken threads spun by larvae (0.055 ± 0.018 μm) were significantly thinner than threads spun by adult females (0.111 ± 0.038 μm). In the first step of the silk depositing behaviour, the mite attached the thread to the substrate by putting its pedipalps in contact with the surface (adhesion, double silken threads). When walking, silken threads became detached from the substrate and spitted up (silken threads were free). Finally, silken threads adhered to the surface. The presence of single and double threads makes thread diameter highly variable.

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“…They live together on dozens of wild and cultivated host plant species and often co-occur on the same plant specimen (Kondo and Takafuji 1985;Morishita 1992Morishita , 1997Takafuji and Morishita 2001;Osakabe et al 2002;Ohno et al 2010). Mated mite adult females (founder individuals) construct complicated, irregular webs on leaf surfaces (Saito 1983), feeding and reproducing inside the webs, and ultimately forming aggregations that include juveniles that also contribute to the web building (Hazan et al 1974;Clotuche et al 2009). Mated adult females of these mites disperse to new hosts, primarily by walking (Kondo and Takafuji 1985;Margolies and Kennedy 1985;Morishita 1992;.…”

Section: Communicated By J Choementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Detailed observations and transfer using a fine brush were possible only under a stereomicroscope. Webs are usually invisible even under a microscope (e.g., Clotuche et al 2009). Because mated adult females represent the dispersing stage of spider mites, I used 2-to 4-day-old mated females (hereafter "females") of T. urticae and T. kanzawai in the following experiments.…”

Section: Mitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cooperative web sharing against predators promotes group living in spider mites

Yano

2012

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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I examined spider mite cooperative web sharing against predation as a factor promoting group living. Tetranychus urticae and Tetranychus kanzawai infest leaf surfaces under webs made of silk threads. Experimental observation of predation by the predatory mite Euseius sojaensis on spider mites of different group sizes revealed that fewer spider mites were preyed upon when the webbuilding period before the attack was prolonged, suggesting that established webs help protect spider mites. Moreover, per capita predation on spider mites was diluted in larger groups. This was not due to predator satiation but seemingly because webs had been completed while the initial prey was consumed. Spider mites lived more closely together in the presence of a predator, showing that the degree of group living is facultative. In the presence of a preceding spider mite with an established web, a newcomer spider mite gain protection by taking residence in the established webs; sharing the web was not disadvantageous for the preceding mite. The proportion of individuals preyed upon did not differ between preceding and newcomer mites, suggesting that there was no interference against the latter. These interactions were consistent between heterospecific spider mites. Because there was no detectable indirect interaction between mites sharing fresh webs, cooperative web sharing seemed to be a major force promoting group living in the spider mites. Moreover, the distances between spider mites did not differ between heterospecific and conspecific groups, demonstrating that mites living together do not distinguish between species; hence, heterospecific mites may cooperate and live together in the same manner as conspecifics.

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How to visualize the spider mite silk?

Cited by 19 publications

References 48 publications

Do Tetranychus urticae males avoid mating with familiar females?

Do Tetranychus urticae males avoid mating with familiar females?

The silk road of Tetranychus urticae: is it a single or a double lane?

Cooperative web sharing against predators promotes group living in spider mites

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