Unusual encounter: First photographic documentation of a Lynx Spider Oxyopes sp. (Araneae: Oxyopidae) Preying on Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from India
Predator–prey interactions play a key role in structuring arthropod communities, and spiders are among the most abundant and diverse predators that influence these dynamics (Lang 2003; Birkhofer et al. 2013). Their predation strategies vary widely, from web building to active hunting, enabling them to exploit a wide range of prey (Cardoso et al. 2011). Ladybugs (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), well known as effective predators of aphids and other sap-sucking pests, have several defenses including aposematic coloration, chemical secretions and a hardened cuticle that generally reduce their vulnerability to predators (Moore et al. 1990; Daloze et al. C. 12905 et al. . Despite these adaptations, predation on ladybirds by a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates has been reported predators, although documented cases involving spiders are relatively few. Existing reports are primarily of web-building spiders that accidentally capture beetles in their webs. In contrast, actively hunting spiders rarely attack coccinellids, mainly due to the beetles’ thick exoskeleton and defensive chemistry (Nentwig 1986; Nyffeler 1999). confirmed occurrence of a non-web-building spider successfully preying on a ladybug is an event of special ecological interest. Only a green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans Hentz, 1832, has been reported to have preyed on Harmonia axyridis Pallas, 1773 in Florida, USA (Ceryngier et al. 2018). This makes the successful predation of a ladybug by a lynx spider particularly intriguing.
During a February 2025 field survey conducted in the guava gardens of ICAR-AICRP at the Fruit Research Unit, Mondouri, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal, India (22°56′08.3″ N, 88°30′′ 27.4) a 27.4 year pre-event was observed. beetle Serangium parcesetosum Sicard, 1929 (Coccinellidae: Microweiseinae: Serangiini) and a lynx spider (Oxyopes sp.) (Araneae: Oxyopidae). An adult S. parcesetosum was actively foraging on guava leaves infested with whiteflies when it was attacked by a lynx spider resting on a nearby leaf edge. The spider quickly caught and subdued the beetle (Figure 1).
Field photos were taken with a Samsung S22 Ultra smartphone. Ladybug Species identification was done using a Zeiss Stemi 508 stereomicroscope guided by the protocols of Poorani (2024). The spider was identified after Gajbe (2008).
