Feeding Ecology of Winter-Active Spiders

Abstract

It is, indeed, an amazing fact that in the cold months of winter an ectothermic animal, such as a spider, can move about and even feed. In fact, biologists usually stay indoors at this time before their fires and rarely venture outside themselves. So only a few hardy souls have been able to observe this phenomenon of winter activity by spiders. This chapter discusses the “why”, “how”, “what” and “where” of feeding ecology of winter-active spiders, together with the actual microclimatic conditions encountered and the physiological and ecological implications of this feeding.