Kleptoparasitism

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Kleptoparasitism or cleptoparasitism (literally, parasitism by theft) is a form of feeding where one animal takes prey from another that has caught, killed, or otherwise prepared it, including stored food provisions, as in the case of cuckoo bees, which lay their eggs on the pollen masses made by other bees. Kleptoparasitism is also 'stealing' nest material or other inanimate objects from one animal by another.

The kleptoparasite gains either by obtaining prey or other objects that it could not obtain itself, or by saving the time and effort required to obtain it. However the kleptoparasite may run the risk of injury from the victim if it is able to defend its prey.

Kleptoparasitism may be intraspecific, where the parasite is the same species as the victim, or interspecific, where the parasite is a different species.

Animals that have unusual feeding methods often suffer kleptoparasitism. For example, oystercatchers are unusual in being able to break through the shells of mussels; adult oystercatchers suffer intraspecific kleptoparasitism from juveniles that are not yet strong or skillful enough to open mussels easily. Diving birds that bring their prey to the surface suffer interspecific kleptoparasitism from gulls, which are unable to fetch fish from the sea floor themselves.

Spiders

Kleptoparasitic spiders are known to occur in five families:

Theridiidae (Argyrodes species)
Dictynidae (Archaeodictyna ulova)
Salticidae (species of Portia and Simaetha)
Symphytognathidae (Curimagua bayano)
Mysmenidae (Isela okuncana, Kilifia inquilina, and Mysmenopsis species).

References

Coyl, F.A., O'Shields, T.C. & Perlmutter, D.G. (1991). Observations on the behaviour of the kleptoparasitic spider, Mysmenopsis furtiva (Araneae, Mysmenidae). Journal of Arachnology, 19, 62–66. [PDF]

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