DRAGLINE-FOLLOWING BY MALE LYCOSID SPIDERS' 
By William J. Tietjen 
Department of Zoology, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701 
Wolf spiders stalk or ambush their prey rather than build prey- 
capture webs. Production of silk by lycosids is important during 
aerial dispersal via ballooning (Richter, 1970b) and, in some, dur- 
ing ’post-immobilization wrapping of prey (Rovner and Knost, 
1974), and construction of egg sacs or sperm webs (Richter, 1970a). 
During locomotion both sexes lay down silk draglines that are 
generally assumed to have a stabilizing or security function (Rich- 
ter and Van der Krann, 1970). In addition, female draglines induce 
courtship behavior in male conspecifics and, in some species, males 
are reported to have followed a female trail, but no systematic 
analyses of the dragline-following behavior have been attempted 
(Bristowe and Locket, 1926; Engelhardt, 1964; Kaston, 1936). 
The present study is concerned with the trail-following behavior 
of male Lycosa rabida and L. punctulata. Specific areas of inves- 
tigation include determination of the use of various appendages 
during following, analysis of cues involved in initiating and main- 
taining trail-following, and an interspecific comparison of trail- 
following behavior. 
Methods 
Penultimate and young adult instars of L . rabida and L. punctu- 
lata were collected near Amesville, Athens County, Ohio, USA, 
during 1974 and 1976. L. rabida were collected late June through 
July while L. punctulata were collected mid- to late September. 
Animals were housed separately in 13 X 7 X 6.5 cm plastic cages 
painted on two sides to afford visual isolation between animals in 
adjacent cages. A paper substratum in each cage collected silk 
used in some experiments and facilitated periodic cleaning of the 
cages. Water was provided ad libitum via a cotton-stoppered vial, 
and two Tenebrio sp. larvae were provided per week as food. Cages 
'This study was supported by National Science Foundation Grant BNS 76-15009 
to J. S. Rovner. 
Manuscript received by the editor September 9, 1977. 
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